American Express Company

Business overview

American Express is a global payments and premium lifestyle brand that operates an end-to-end integrated payments platform. The company combines card issuing, merchant acquiring, and a card network to enable transactions between Card Members and merchants. It also provides data analytics, fraud prevention, and marketing services, and develops digital interfaces and experiences for customers and partners.

Key business lines and capabilities

• Card Issuing (Consumer and Commercial): General purpose credit and charge cards for consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations. Offers a range of card products, rewards, and services, including travel, dining, lifestyle benefits, and expense management.
• Banking and Financing: Deposits (high-yield savings), checking accounts, consumer installment loans, and lines of credit for small businesses.
• Merchant Acquisition and Processing (GMNS): Manages merchant relationships for accepting American Express cards, sets discount rates, provides servicing and support, and offers fraud protection tools and marketing/data analytics for merchants.
• Card Network: Global payments network that processes and settles transactions, with partnerships in about 110 countries and third-party cards on the network.
• Partner Ecosystem & Co-branding: Extensive cobrands and partnerships (for example, Delta Air Lines, Marriott, British Airways, Hilton). Includes loyalty programs (Membership Rewards, Amex Offers) and co-created partner benefits.
• Expanding Offerings & Platforms: Digital apps (for example, the Amex Travel App launched in 2025), dining platforms (Resy and Tock), and business solutions including expense management and SAP Concur integration.
• Data, Analytics, and Security: Uses data and analytics to underwrite risk, tailor offers, and provide marketing insights; employs a multi-layer cybersecurity and risk-management framework (TRIS) to protect information and operations.

Scale and customers (as of 12/31/2025)

• Proprietary cards-in-force (Card Members): 86.6 million worldwide.
• Third-party cards-in-force (on the network): 66.2 million worldwide.

(Note: “Card Members” are customers of the card-issuing business; third-party cards-in-force are cards issued by banks or other entities on the AmEx network.)

Financial highlights (2025)

• Worldwide billed business (spending on American Express cards issued by the company): $1,670 billion for the year ended 12/31/2025.
• Net interest income: Approximately $17.4 billion for the year ended 12/31/2025.
• The business model depends on cardholder spending, lending, and fees, with a strategy focused on premium Membership benefits and partner-driven value.

Employees and corporate footprint

• Employees (colleagues): Approximately 76,800 as of 12/31/2025 (about 25,900 in the U.S. and 50,900 outside the U.S.).
• Global presence: Headquarters in New York and extensive operations worldwide, including major centers in the U.S. (Arizona, Florida), Europe (UK, Spain), Asia (India, Japan, Malaysia), the Philippines, Canada, Mexico, and others. Maintains multiple data centers and lounges for Card Members.

Major partnerships and business mix

• Delta Air Lines is the largest strategic partner, with cobranded cards and travel-related benefits. The Delta cobrand portfolio represented about 13% of worldwide billed business and about 21% of worldwide Card Member loans as of 12/31/2025.
• Cobrand and partner arrangements are a substantial portion of the business, with rewards, discounts, and joint marketing tied to partner networks.

Strategic emphasis

• Grow leadership in the premium consumer segment through Membership benefits, partnerships, and experiences.
• Strengthen commercial payments with differentiated card propositions and expense management solutions.
• Expand global merchant acceptance and provide merchants with fraud protection, marketing insights, and access to high-spending Card Members.
• Use the integrated network to broaden product offerings and improve customer experiences.
• Reimagine customer and colleague experiences through technology, including AI-enabled enhancements and agentic commerce capabilities.