What smart money is saying about American Express
5 funds in our archive have pitched American Express — most recently Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Steinberg Equity Strategies in July 2026.
Operating globally, American Express Company and its affiliated entities deliver a comprehensive suite of charge and credit payment card solutions, alongside a variety of travel-related offerings. Its business structure is organized into three primary divisions: the Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Among its core offerings are diverse payment and financing instruments, robust network infrastructure services, tools for managing accounts payable expenses, and comprehensive travel and lifestyle support. Furthermore, it facilitates merchant services such as acquisition, transaction processing, settlement, and point-of-sale marketing, providing vital information and assistance to businesses. The company also specializes in fraud mitigation and developing and managing customer loyalty initiatives. These products and services are made available to a broad clientele, encompassing individual consumers, small and mid-sized enterprises, and large corporate entities. Distribution channels include digital platforms (mobile and online applications), collaborations with third-party vendors and partners, direct communication methods like mail and telephone, dedicated internal sales forces, and direct response advertising campaigns. Established in 1850, American Express Company maintains its corporate headquarters in New York, New York.
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Position history
Between Q4 2024 and Q3 2026, 10 fund letters reported a position in American Express — 2 opened or added to the position, 1 trimmed or exited.
| Quarter | Letters | Bought | Sold | Theses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Q2 2026 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Q1 2026 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Q4 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fund activity · 10 positions · 3 moves
- July 2026
Listed in WS Lindsell Train North American Equity Fund’s reported holdings.
American Express - HoldsLorne Steinberg Wealth Management Steinberg Equity StrategiesJuly 2026
“Management has remained committed to returning excess capital to shareholders via steady dividend growth and continuing share repurchases. AMEX’s 10 - year annualized return is 20%.”
American Express - June 2026
“American Express Company Financial Services”
American Express - AddedBaron Financials ETFJune 2026
Listed in Baron Financials ETF’s reported holdings.
American Express - HoldsBretton FundJune 2026
“Our other significant positive contributor was American Express, which added 0.7%.”
American Express Listed in Sustainable Growth Advisers U.S. Large Cap Growth Strategy’s reported holdings.
American Express- HoldsBretton FundJune 2026
“The stock added 2.5% to performance in the quarter. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the boom in spending for artificial intelligence data centers has made our overall performance lag the broader market. We are believers in AI and its capabilities, and our largest holding continues to be Alphabet, arguably the leading beneficiary of AI. The stock added 3% to performance this quarter. But we are wary of the size and sustainability of the industry’s data center buildout. The amount being spent on chips, memory, and facilities is staggering and cannot be maintained. Computer memory in particular, a notoriously crummy industry with poor returns, is seeing nearly insatiable demand as AI companies undertake an expensive landgrab for computing power. Stock prices have surged to absurd levels over the past year—Micron by 600%, SK Hynix 500%, Sandisk over 3,000%—and along with the broader semiconductor space, they have driven much of the return of the market. The short-term surge in spending by AI providers like Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, et al., is rational behavior given first-mover advantages and the market’s potential, but this buildout phase won’t last forever. The amount of computing power required to power AI is dropping dramatically—often 50% in a few months—and the need to spend as much on semiconductors will dissipate. Nothing fundamental has changed about the memory business, and the sector will see a painful downturn at some point. We will appear out of step until that happens, but we are not going to jump into valuations that make no sense to us just to keep up with this trend. Our other significant positive contributor was American Express, which added 0.7%.”
American Express - June 2026
Listed in Weitz Investments Partners III Opportunity Fund’s reported holdings.
American Express - March 2026
“We also trimmed our positions in Kimberly-Clark, Applied Materials, Omnicom, Merck, Ameriprise Financial, Gen Digital, American Express, Carlyle Group, Chubb.”
American Express - March 2026
“we used most of our Ametek proceeds to establish a new position in American Express in March, at a price of $294.”
65 more words on why — unlock Giverny Capital Asset Management (GCAM) model portfolio’s full commentAmerican Express
Also mentioned · 7
These funds discuss American Express — as a competitor, benchmark or comparable — without disclosing a position in it.
- July 2026
“• Agentic commerce. Whilst we have our various doubts as to why agentic commerce will not be adopted quite as fast as its leading proponents suggest, the networks are not passive bystanders.5 Visa has launched its Intelligent Commerce Platform and Trusted Agent Protocol; Mastercard has Agent Pay. Authentication, delegated consent, fraud liability, and dispute resolution are precisely the problems card networks have spent decades solving. Money movement is a commodity, but globally networked acceptance, governance and security are not. The Apple Pay experience is instructive here. When Apple launched its own payments layer twelve years ago, many feared commoditisation and disintermediation. Instead, Apple used the networks – Visa, Mastercard and American Express – as a distribution and settlement layer thereby accelerating card adoption.”
American Express - MentionedFundsmith Equity FundJune 2026
“In particular, we will be much less willing to deploy the time-honoured technique of buying quality companies when they hit a glitch. This was used to good effect, for example, by Warren Buffett to buy Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in American Express during the salad oil scandal (look it up)”
American Express - MentionedLeaven Partners Value-Oriented StrategyJune 2026
““We will take more account of momentum - both fundamental and share price — in our investment decisions. In particular, we will be much less willing to deploy the time-honoured technique of buying quality companies when they hit a glitch. This was used to good effect, for example, by Warren Buffett to buy Berkshire Hathaway's stake in American Express during the salad oil scandal”
American Express - MentionedArtisan Partners Global Value FundJune 2026
“The reason the direct model worked for auto and home policies is that these policies are essentially commodities. They have standard limits, coverage levels that are, in many cases, mandated by state regulations, and they are easily comparable. A basic liability policy for a 2026 Toyota Camry in San Francisco, California, purchased from Progressive or through your State Farm agent, is going to look pretty much the same. The biggest difference is the price of the policy. Progressive can generally offer a better one because it doesn’t have a large brokerage infrastructure to support. Direct retail auto and home insurance is not a good analog for commercial insurance. The global property and casualty insurance needs of businesses such as Coca-Cola or American Express or Meta are not as simple as underwriting a state-mandated liability policy for a Toyota Camry.”
American Express - June 2026
“The global property and casualty insurance needs of businesses such as Coca-Cola or American Express or Meta are not as simple as underwriting a state-mandated liability policy for a Toyota Camry.”
American Express - June 2026
“the direct model worked for auto and home policies is that these policies are essentially commodities. They have standard limits, coverage levels that are, in many cases, mandated by state regulations, and they are easily comparable. A basic liability policy for a 2026 Toyota Camry in San Francisco, California, purchased from Progressive or through your State Farm agent, is going to look pretty much the same. The biggest difference is the price of the policy. Progressive can generally offer a better one because it doesn’t have a large brokerage infrastructure to support. Direct retail auto and home insurance is not a good analog for commercial insurance. The global property and casualty insurance needs of businesses such as Coca-Cola or American Express or Meta are not as simple as underwriting a state-mandated liability policy for a Toyota Camry.”
American Express - MentionedManole CapitalDecember 2025
“Payments & Stablecoins: Payments have traditionally been an area that prefers to move slowly. We often say that payments are more evolutionary than revolutionary, but that pattern is beginning to change. The gradual removal of paper checks and the decision to stop minting pennies illustrate how the system is finally moving away from outdated processes. At the same time, real-time payment networks continue to expand, and online and mobile transactions are gaining share across all demographics. Stablecoins are becoming a meaningful part of this evolution. They offer faster settlement, improved efficiency, and lower operational friction for businesses that move significant volumes of money each day. Major payment companies and financial institutions are actively exploring stablecoin pilots that enable instant payouts and real-time funding, particularly for cross- border and high-frequency transactions. The enduring appeal of card payments is their universality. Consumers trust that Visa and Mastercard will be accepted globally, allowing transactions to occur quickly and seamlessly, particularly on mobile devices. Card payments are fast, convenient, and offer meaningful consumer protections. Merchants have benefited from higher spending per visit, reduced cash-handling risks, and the growth of e-commerce and contactless transactions. These advantages are often taken for granted in today’s payments ecosystem. After more than 20 years of litigation, Visa and Mastercard agreed to yet another settlement that gives merchants greater flexibility, including the ability to surcharge and to opt out of “honor all cards” rules. While this may not meaningfully alter daily behavior at first, it could become frustrating for consumers who are told by clerks that certain Visa or Mastercard products are not accepted. We expect some retailers to prohibit the use of premium consumer cards while continuing to accept commercial or lower-tier cards. Increasingly, some merchants are choosing to dictate how customers pay. The old mantra that “the customer is always right” appears to be giving way to policies that restrict card choice. Being told that a Platinum American Express card, a Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa, or a World Elite Mastercard is not permitted, despite carrying the same network logo, feels counterintuitive.”
American Express
Fund coverage · 5 theses
- Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Steinberg Equity StrategiesJuly 2026
American Express is a premium payments and financial services franchise with strong brand equity, affluent customers, low credit risk, and high returns on equity.
Read the full thesis - Baron Financials ETFJune 2026
American Express is an industry leader serving affluent customers and businesses with strong returns on equity, trusted brand strength, and attractive valuation.
Read the full thesis American Express has a premium brand, a virtuous rewards ecosystem, strong card spending growth, rapid premium cardholder additions, and attractive valuation after a 25% drop.
Read the full thesis- Giverny CapitalMarch 2026
American Express is a premium payments and card franchise with strong brand power, rising spend, and attractive earnings growth at a fair valuation.
Read the full thesis - Artemis Funds Leading Consumer Brands fundDecember 2024
American Express is positioned for growth due to its strong brand, rewarding partnerships, increasing card fees, and a robust ecosystem enhancing its network value.
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