CFRA Reiterates Strong Buy Opinion On Shares Of American Express Company

We increase our 12-month target price by $25 to $235, applying a forward P/E of 18.3x our 2024 earnings estimate, a wider risk premium than the peer average of 7.3x given more consistent earnings performance, lower credit risk, and superior growth prospects. We raise our 2023 EPS estimate by $0.11 to $11.30 and decrease 2024’s by $0.15 to $12.87. AXP reported Q2 EPS of $2.89 vs. $2.57, a $0.07 earnings beat. Revenue growth slowed to 12% Y/Y as benefits from pandemic comps have been fully realized. However, we were still impressed with AXP’s resilience as a slowdown in discount revenue (+8% Y/Y) was met with exceptional growth in net card fees (+21%). Additionally, net interest income surged 32% as results benefited from strong loan growth and net interest yield expansion. Looking forward, we expect net interest income momentum to continue given strong loan growth, and we don’t expect credit quality to be a significant hindrance to earnings as AXP has improved its credit profile over the past few years.

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