AXP vs MA Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare American Express and Mastercard by premium cardholder spending, cross-border transaction volume, network economics, operating margins, and analyst upside.
Use this American Express vs Mastercard comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
AXP holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AXP leads on both 1-year return (+14.66%) and forward P/E quality (17.62x vs 23.85x for MA), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. MA leads on both revenue growth (15.80%) and operating margin (60.84%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for MA (+18.44%) than for AXP (+5.51%).
| Metric | AXP | MA |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 60.0 | 57.4 |
| AI rank | #200 | #243 |
| Latest close | $348.74 | $531.98 |
| 1M return | +3.16% | +9.89% |
| 6M return | -3.02% | +0.84% |
| 1Y return | +14.66% | -4.79% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AXP | MA |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.3K (+13.0%) started 2025-07-23 | $9.46K (-5.4%) started 2025-07-23 |
| 5Y ago | $22.25K (+122.5%) started 2021-07-26 | $14.15K (+41.5%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $70.06K (+600.6%) started 2016-07-25 | $63.44K (+534.4%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AXP | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $242.46B | $480.32B |
| Trailing P/E | 22.17 | 31.44 |
| Forward P/E | 17.62 | 23.85 |
| Price/Sales | 3.42 | 18.43 |
| EV/Revenue | 3.62 | 14.47 |
| Analyst target | $374.94 | $643.84 |
| Target upside | +5.51% | +18.44% |
| Metric | AXP | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 11.60% | 15.80% |
| Earnings growth | 17.60% | 21.20% |
| EPS growth | +17.60% | +21.20% |
| FCF margin | N/A | +47.58% |
| Operating margin | 21.25% | 60.84% |
| Profit margin | 16.30% | 45.88% |
| ROIC proxy | 34.42% | 232.08% |
| Return on equity | 34.42% | 232.08% |
| Dividend yield | 1.07% | 0.64% |
| Beta | 1.04 | 0.73 |
| Debt/equity | 177.85 | 282.06 |
| Current ratio | 1.57 | 0.98 |
| Quick ratio | 1.56 | 0.56 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AXP | MA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +12.99% | -5.36% |
| CAGR | +13.02% | -5.37% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.43 | -0.35 | |
| Max drawdown | 24.06% | 21.27% | |
| Max daily drop | 7.88% | 5.77% | |
| Max wkly drop | 10.77% | 6.45% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +111.89% | +38.45% |
| CAGR | +16.24% | +6.73% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.51 | 0.21 | |
| Max drawdown | 31.55% | 28.25% | |
| Max daily drop | 9.97% | 7.69% | |
| Max wkly drop | 18.20% | 13.28% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +513.94% | +502.11% |
| CAGR | +19.91% | +19.68% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.59 | 0.64 | |
| Max drawdown | 49.64% | 41.00% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.82% | 12.73% | |
| Max wkly drop | 25.58% | 21.70% |
| Category | AXP | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Company | AXP | MA |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Credit Services | Credit Services |
| Core business | N/A | N/A |
| Investor focus | N/A | N/A |
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