American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) stock traded higher on Monday, December 22, 2025, as investors weighed a fresh Wall Street price-target increase against a familiar 2025 backdrop: resilient premium-card spending, closely watched credit metrics, and a steady drumbeat of shareholder returns.
At the time of writing, AXP was around $381 per share, up about 1.2% on the session—keeping the stock near its recent highs as markets head into the final stretch of the year.
What changed for AXP on December 22, 2025
The most notable stock-specific update in today’s flow is a new research move from Truist Securities:
- Truist maintained its “Buy” rating and raised its price target on American Express to $420 from $395, according to reporting tied to analyst Brian Foran and dated December 22, 2025. [1]
On a day with no major earnings release or corporate acquisition headline, moves like this can matter—especially for a widely held “quality compounder” story like AmEx, where valuation and forward expectations drive much of the debate.
AXP stock price today: the market’s signal is “steady strength”
American Express shares have been holding up in late 2025, with intraday trading on Dec. 22 showing an advance that pushed the stock toward the upper end of its daily range.
That matters for two reasons:
- Expectations are higher now. When a stock is near highs, each incremental catalyst—analyst targets, spending commentary, or credit data—gets filtered through a tougher lens.
- Consensus forecasts don’t fully keep up with the price. Many widely tracked analyst-consensus pages currently show average targets below the stock’s late-December trading level, implying limited upside (or even downside) if estimates don’t rise further. [2]
The demand story: premium customers are still spending
One of the most supportive narratives for American Express through 2025 has been the company’s exposure to higher-income consumers and premium card products.
In early December, AmEx CEO Stephen Squeri said the company’s network saw 9% growth in U.S. retail consumer spending over the Thanksgiving holiday week, with Platinum card spending up 13% over the same period—signaling continued strength among top-tier customers and helping calm fears that holiday demand might fade. [3]
For investors, this is a core driver because billed business (spending volume) is a major engine for fee revenue, merchant network economics, and the broader “membership model” that differentiates AmEx from peers.
Credit quality check: delinquencies steady, write-offs modestly higher
Alongside spending, credit is the other key lever for the stock—especially at a time when consumers across the industry have faced elevated borrowing costs.
In its December 15, 2025 Form 8‑K, American Express disclosed monthly delinquency and write-off statistics for U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card Member loans held for investment. Highlights from the filing include:
- U.S. Consumer loans: total loans $97.7B as of Nov. 30, 2025; 30+ day delinquencies at 1.4% (steady vs. October and September); net write-off rate 2.1% (vs. 2.2% in October and 1.9% in September). [4]
- U.S. Small Business loans: total loans $31.4B as of Nov. 30, 2025; 30+ day delinquencies at 1.6% (steady); net write-off rate 2.7% (vs. 2.6% in October and 2.5% in September). [5]
- Total U.S. Consumer + Small Business loans held for investment:$129.1B as of Nov. 30, 2025 (up from $126.4B in October). [6]
The message from these numbers is nuanced but broadly constructive: delinquencies are steady, while write-offs have edged higher in some categories—an evolution investors will keep monitoring as 2026 approaches. [7]
Dividend and shareholder returns: a new payout is set for February 2026
AmEx remains a shareholder-return story, and December brought a fresh dividend update.
The company said its board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.82 per common share, payable February 10, 2026, to shareholders of record January 2, 2026. [8]
For income-oriented holders, the headline is straightforward: the dividend remains intact and predictable. For growth-focused investors, the bigger angle is that consistent dividends can reinforce the market’s view of AmEx as a durable earnings generator—particularly when paired with ongoing buybacks over the cycle (even when buyback pace varies quarter to quarter).
Next big date: American Express sets Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings call
The calendar matters for AXP right now because the next major “hard catalyst” is earnings.
American Express announced it plans to host its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings conference call on Friday, January 30, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET, and also published the 2026 quarterly earnings call schedule. [9]
This January event is likely to be the market’s next major checkpoint for:
- 2026 revenue and EPS outlook
- expense discipline and productivity initiatives
- credit normalization (if any)
- momentum from premium card product refreshes and fee economics
The “Platinum refresh” effect: still a central 2026 debate
AmEx’s premium product strategy has been a recurring theme in 2025 coverage.
Earlier this fall, reporting highlighted that American Express’ strong third-quarter performance was driven in part by spending from affluent cardholders and engagement with refreshed premium products. Coverage also noted that the Platinum Card refresh included a higher annual fee (reported as $895) and new perks, while customer response remained robust. [10]
Whether those product refresh economics continue to expand margins into 2026 is one of the “swing factors” behind bullish targets like Truist’s $420.
A real-world risk investors are watching: surcharging and merchant acceptance dynamics
Not all storylines are purely financial statements and targets.
In mid-December, Payments Dive reported that CEO Steve Squeri criticized the idea of increased merchant surcharges on AmEx card purchases, framing surcharging as a negative customer experience and noting AmEx has navigated similar dynamics internationally. The discussion followed attention on merchant-network rules and potential ripple effects from a proposed Visa/Mastercard settlement that could influence surcharging behaviors. [11]
Why this matters for AXP stock: American Express’ premium rewards model is closely tied to the economics of merchant fees. If broader market dynamics push more merchants toward surcharging premium cards, investor focus could shift toward long-term acceptance trends—even if the near-term financial impact is limited.
Regulatory headline to note: CNIL cookie fine in France
Another item in the December risk file comes from Europe.
France’s data protection authority, the CNIL, said on Nov. 27, 2025 it sanctioned American Express Carte France with a €1.5 million fine for non-compliance with cookie rules, and published details of the decision on Dec. 3, 2025. [12]
From an equity perspective, the direct financial magnitude is unlikely to be material for a company AmEx’s size—but it’s a reminder that regulatory and compliance issues can create headline volatility, especially for consumer-facing global brands.
Wall Street forecast snapshot: price targets are climbing, but consensus remains mixed
Here’s the part that often confuses investors: AXP is getting more bullish top-end targets, yet overall consensus still reads as “Hold” on many trackers.
A few key data points investors are citing today:
- MarketBeat lists a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $335.55, with a high target of $425 and a low target of $255. [13]
- TipRanks shows a Hold consensus as well, with an average price target of $355.56 (high $425, low $280) based on its tracked set of recent analyst targets. [14]
- On the high end, Wells Fargo recently raised its target to $425 from $400 and kept an Overweight rating, according to TheFly coverage. [15]
- And today, Truist moved its target to $420, maintaining Buy. [16]
So what’s the takeaway?
- The bull case: AXP is being priced like a high-quality compounder, and the most optimistic analysts are leaning into that with targets in the low-to-mid $400s. [17]
- The cautious case: With shares already around the high $300s, the average target on many consensus pages sits lower—suggesting the market may have already “pulled forward” a good portion of the next year’s expected progress. [18]
Valuation debate: “expensive” vs. “earned”
One of the most widely circulated late-2025 arguments in favor of AmEx is that investors are paying up for consistency—but not necessarily irrationally, given the company’s growth algorithm and premium customer base.
A TipRanks analysis published in late 2025 framed the valuation roughly as about 24x 2025 consensus EPS and about 22x 2026 consensus EPS, while pointing to Wall Street expectations for low double-digit annual EPS growth over the next several years. [19]
Even if you disagree with the conclusion, that framing is helpful because it clarifies what the stock is “asking” from the business:
- keep revenue growth solid
- keep credit losses contained
- translate premium product momentum into sustained fee income
- avoid margin erosion from competitive rewards inflation
If those elements hold, the stock can still work. If one breaks, the multiple becomes harder to defend.
What investors should watch next for American Express stock
With December 22 now in the rear-view mirror, AXP’s near-term narrative is likely to revolve around four checkpoints:
- Holiday spending follow-through
Investors will look for confirmation that strength described around Thanksgiving continues through year-end. [20] - Credit data consistency
The latest monthly filing shows steady delinquency rates and manageable write-offs—but markets will watch for trend changes into early 2026. [21] - Earnings and guidance on Jan. 30, 2026
The company’s scheduled Q4 and full-year call is the next major inflection point for forward guidance and narrative control. [22] - Network economics and merchant behavior
Any shift in acceptance dynamics—especially if surcharging becomes more visible around premium cards—could influence how investors handicap long-term growth and brand strength. [23]
Bottom line on AXP stock heading out of Dec. 22, 2025
American Express stock is closing in on year-end with bullish signals—today’s Truist price-target hike to $420 adds to a high-end target cluster that includes $425 calls from other firms. [24]
But the broader Street picture remains balanced: consensus targets on major trackers sit below the current share price, and “Hold” ratings remain common even as spending looks resilient and credit metrics stay steady. [25]
For investors, that sets up a familiar late-cycle question: Can AmEx keep “earning” its premium valuation into 2026? The next strong evidence will arrive with Q4 results and forward guidance at the end of January. [26]
References
1. www.gurufocus.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.sec.gov, 5. www.sec.gov, 6. www.sec.gov, 7. www.sec.gov, 8. www.businesswire.com, 9. ir.americanexpress.com, 10. apnews.com, 11. www.paymentsdive.com, 12. www.cnil.fr, 13. www.marketbeat.com, 14. www.tipranks.com, 15. www.tipranks.com, 16. www.gurufocus.com, 17. www.gurufocus.com, 18. www.marketbeat.com, 19. www.tipranks.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.sec.gov, 22. ir.americanexpress.com, 23. www.paymentsdive.com, 24. www.gurufocus.com, 25. www.marketbeat.com, 26. ir.americanexpress.com
