American Express vs Capital One
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The short version
- American Express is the larger business, with $72.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $53.4B for Capital One.
- Capital One grew revenue faster (36.6%, against 9.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of American Expressβs earnings: a P/E of 17.6x against 12.1x for Capital One.
| Latest fiscal year | AXP Β· FY25 | COF Β· FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $218.0B | $109.0B |
| Revenue | $72.2B | $53.4B |
| Free cash flow | β | β |
| Net income | $10.8B | $2.5B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 9.5% | 36.6% |
| 5-year growth | 14.9% | 13.4% |
| Share count change | β2.4% | 41.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | β | β |
| Operating margin | β | β |
| Net margin | 15.0% | 4.6% |
| FCF margin | β | β |
| Return on capital | β | β |
| Return on equity | 34.0% | 2.8% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | β | β |
| Net debt / EBITDA | β | β |
| Dividends and buybacks | $8.1B | $5.6B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 17.6x | 12.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | β | β |
Revenue
FY16
AXP $35.4B
COF $25.5B
FY17
AXP $36.9B
COF $27.2B
FY18
AXP $40.3B
COF $28.1B
FY19
AXP $43.6B
COF $28.6B
FY20
AXP $36.1B
COF $28.5B
FY21
AXP $42.4B
COF $30.4B
FY22
AXP $52.9B
COF $34.3B
FY23
AXP $60.5B
COF $36.8B
FY24
AXP $65.9B
COF $39.1B
FY25
AXP $72.2B
COF $53.4B
AXP
COF
Operating margin
FY16
AXP β
COF β
FY17
AXP β
COF β
FY18
AXP β
COF β
FY19
AXP β
COF β
FY20
AXP β
COF β
FY21
AXP β
COF β
FY22
AXP β
COF β
FY23
AXP β
COF β
FY24
AXP β
COF β
FY25
AXP β
COF β
AXP
COF
Free cash flow
FY16
AXP β
COF β
FY17
AXP β
COF β
FY18
AXP β
COF β
FY19
AXP β
COF β
FY20
AXP β
COF β
FY21
AXP β
COF β
FY22
AXP β
COF β
FY23
AXP β
COF β
FY24
AXP β
COF β
FY25
AXP β
COF β
AXP
COF
Return on capital
FY16
AXP β
COF β
FY17
AXP β
COF β
FY18
AXP β
COF β
FY19
AXP β
COF β
FY20
AXP β
COF β
FY21
AXP β
COF β
FY22
AXP β
COF β
FY23
AXP β
COF β
FY24
AXP β
COF β
FY25
AXP β
COF β
AXP
COF
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.