What Happened?
Shares of global payments company American Express (NYSE: AXP) fell 4.1% in the afternoon session after President Donald Trump announced a call for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates.
The proposed one-year cap sent shockwaves through the financial services sector, sparking a broad selloff. President Trump stated on social media that Americans were being "ripped off" by high interest rates. The news impacted other major financial companies as well, with shares of Capital One, Citigroup, Visa, and Mastercard also declining. Some analysts noted that imposing such a limit on rates would likely require new laws and could be beyond presidential authority.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy American Express? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
American Express’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 6.3% on the news that the company reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter of 2025, beating Wall Street's estimates for revenue and profit.
The global payments company posted revenue of $13.94 billion, an 11.8% increase from the same period last year, which surpassed analyst expectations. Earnings came in at $4.14 per share, also ahead of consensus estimates and up from $3.49 in the year-ago quarter. This strong performance was supported by a significant rise in customer spending, with total transaction volumes growing 8.7% year-on-year to $479.2 billion, also topping forecasts. Overall, the solid top- and bottom-line beats signaled healthy consumer engagement and effective business execution, boosting investor confidence.
American Express is down 3.4% since the beginning of the year, but at $359.87 per share, it is still trading close to its 52-week high of $384.89 from December 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of American Express’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,959.
Do you want to know what moves the business you care about? Add them to your StockStory watchlist and every time a stock significantly moves, we provide you with a timely explanation straight to your inbox. It’s free and will only take you a second.
