American Express Maintains Impressive Momentum in New Card Acquisition and Loan Growth
American Express has enjoyed several years of accelerated growth as its new card acquisition and loan growth has significantly outpaced peers'. The company has historically been a payment network first and lender second. While this has not changed—it still only gets around 25% of its revenue from net interest income—its shift toward a younger cardholder base and more lending features on its cards drove 26.1% compound annual growth in net interest income from 2021 to 2024, providing a major tailwind to overall growth. We expect this growth to decelerate significantly, as it was driven by specific strategic and product shifts that have run their course. As a case in point, net interest income increased 12% in 2025—still a strong result but well below the previous three-year average.
United States