Premium cards · Closed-loop payments · Card Member lending
American Express
American Express combines card issuing, merchant acquiring and its payment network. Revenue net of interest expense reached $72.229 billion in 2025, with merchant discount revenue contributing more than half. The Delta cobrand portfolio alone represented about 13% of worldwide billed business and 21% of Card Member loans.
Business categories Banking & Payments · Finance & Capital · primary
- Banking & Payments: Wells Fargo · Fiserv · Mastercard Inc · Visa Inc · Global Payments Inc.
AXP Updated Oct 18, 2026 4 AI consumers· 3 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, American Express is directly linked to 4 companies (3 supply, 0 revenue, 1 investment relationships) and reaches 17 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 12 dated sources, 8 of them primary filings (as of 2026-10-18).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · Revenue net of interest expense $72.229B (FY2025)
- Customer concentration · Delta cobrand: about 13% of worldwide billed business and 21% of Card Member loans (2025-12-31)
- Segments · Discount revenue · Net card fees · Service fees and other revenue · Net interest income
Revenue from
- Merchants High confidence· Amount $37.4B · FY2025 · Merchant discount revenue
Merchants pay discount fees for transactions processed on the American Express network. Discount revenue was its largest revenue source at $37.401 billion in 2025, while Q2 2026 Card Member spending rose 9% year over year.Mentions EN Associated Press Published Jul 24, 2026: American Express Q2 profit rises driven by higher spending and fewer delinquenciesConfirms KO Korean Credit Card Research Institute Published May 8, 2026: Business Investment Directions and Regulatory Changes for Card Companies - Card Members High confidence· Amount $10B · FY2025 · Net card fees
Card Members pay annual fees and interest on revolving balances. Net card fees reached $9.993 billion in 2025, and the model combines spending, lending and fee revenues from a premium, high-credit-quality customer base.Mentions EN Associated Press Published Jul 24, 2026: American Express Q2 profit rises driven by higher spending and fewer delinquenciesConfirms KO Korean Credit Card Research Institute Published May 8, 2026: Business Investment Directions and Regulatory Changes for Card Companies
Pays to
- Delta Air Lines High confidence· Amount $6.9B · 9M 2026 · Remuneration under the Delta SkyMiles partnership
Delta is American Express's largest strategic partner. Remuneration under the SkyMiles cobrand and Membership Rewards relationship reached $2.3 billion in Q3 2026 and $6.9 billion for nine months, up 14% year over year. - Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. High confidence
American Express pays Hilton for intellectual-property licensing and Hilton Honors points issued through its co-branded cards. The counterparty-specific amount is not disclosed. - Marriott International, Inc. High confidence
American Express pays Marriott fixed and monthly variable consideration tied primarily to card usage under the U.S. Bonvoy cobrand agreement. The counterparty-specific amount is not disclosed.
Investors
- Berkshire Hathaway High confidence· Market share 22.5 percent · 2026-06-30 · Berkshire ownership of American Express shares outstanding
Berkshire Hathaway owned 151.6 million American Express shares at June 30, 2026, representing 22.5% of shares outstanding.
Investments
- Global Business Travel Group, Inc. High confidence· Amount $1.5B · 2026-09-29 merger closing · Cash consideration for Amex's GBTG shares at merger closing
American Express formerly owned about 30% of GBTG. At the September 29, 2026 merger closing, its 157,786,199 shares converted into $9.50 per share, about $1.499 billion in cash, leaving it with 0% ownership. Brand licensing and commercial agreements continue.
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express | node | +36.9 | -8.5 | +28.7 | +60.3 | +26 | -14.3 |
| Delta Air Lines | benef1 | -2.8 | -15.9 | +23 | +52 | +16.1 | +19.3 |
| Marriott International, Inc. | benef1 | +25.3 | -9.3 | +53.1 | +24.9 | +12.3 | +9.1 |
| Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | benef1 | +40.2 | -18.7 | +44.7 | +36.1 | +16.5 | +8.5 |
| Berkshire Hathaway | benef1 | +29 | +3.3 | +15.5 | +27.1 | +10.9 | +0.7 |
| Viasat | benef2 | +36.4 | -28.9 | -11.7 | -69.6 | +304.9 | +109 |
| Mitsubishi | benef2 | +49.7 | +21.5 | +63.7 | +18.6 | +42.4 | +40.8 |
| UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | benef2 | +45.2 | +6.9 | +0.8 | -2.4 | -33.1 | +21.9 |
| VeriSign, Inc. | benef2 | +17.3 | -19.1 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +18.4 | +21.3 |
| Apple | benef2 | +34.6 | -26.4 | +49 | +30.7 | +9.1 | +18 |
| Amazon | benef2 | +2.4 | -49.6 | +80.9 | +44.4 | +5.2 | +12 |
| Itochu | benef2 | +25.6 | +17.9 | +66.6 | +9.1 | +40.8 | +11.6 |
| Cintas Corporation | benef2 | +26.5 | +3 | +34.8 | +22.2 | +3.8 | +7.4 |
| The Kraft Heinz Company | benef2 | +8 | +18.2 | -5 | -13 | -16.3 | +6.1 |
| Airbus | benef2 | +34.8 | +3.9 | +30.5 | +15 | +18.3 | +4.8 |
| Boeing | benef2 | -6 | -5.4 | +36.8 | -32.1 | +22.7 | -2.2 |
| Booking Holdings Inc. | benef2 | +7.7 | -16 | +76 | +41.3 | +8.6 | -9.3 |
| Oracle | benef2 | +36.9 | -4.6 | +30.9 | +60 | +18.1 | -26.5 |
YTD as of 2026-10-16 · source: Yahoo Finance
American Express runs on the consumer-spending and credit clock. Its shares rose 28.7% in 2023, 60.3% in 2024 and 26.0% in 2025, then fell 14.3% through October 16, 2026. Delta gained 19.3% over the same 2026 period, while Amex remuneration to Delta rose 14% to $6.9 billion for nine months, putting the recipient layer ahead. Amex cashed out its GBTG stake for about $1.499 billion and now owns 0%, though the brand license and commercial agreements remain. Rewards and marketing costs, premium-card competition, credit costs and valuation can break the transmission between transaction growth and the stock.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-10-16← All companiesMarkdown · JSON · Customers · Suppliers · Ripple