AXP vs MA vs GS Stock Comparison

American Express, Mastercard and Goldman Sachs Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AXP American Express Co
$315.00 +2.0% 1M -11.9% 1Y
Market cap
$210.88B
P/E
17.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
1 win
MA Mastercard Inc
$613.59 +8.1% 1M +7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$538.39B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
5 wins
GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc
$893.23 -4.5% 1M +13.9% 1Y
Market cap
$273.64B
P/E
12.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$69.70B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 5, Goldman Sachs 5, American Express 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAXPMAGSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $210.88B $538.39B $273.64B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.2x 33.1x 12.8x GS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.9x 29.2x 11.9x GS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.2% +16.0% +18.7% GS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.8% 46.3% — MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.6% 59.0% — MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 0.6x — AXP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.9% +7.0% +13.9% GS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.1%/yr +12.8%/yr +16.8%/yr GS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.2% 22.7% 31.9% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 52/100 48/100 MA

Percentile Scorecard

AXPMAGS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAXPMAGS
Valuation 21 #287 of 362 14 #815 of 947 20 #290 of 362
Growth 39 #136 of 221 66 #238 of 691 96 #10 of 221
Profitability 65 #71 of 200 99 #8 of 673 –
Financial Health 39 #124 of 203 50 #379 of 754 –
Shareholder Returns 63 #129 of 342 34 #474 of 713 27 #251 of 342
Overall 45 52 48
  • AXP ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • MA ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services
  • GS ranked among 370 companies in Banking

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAXPMAGSSPY
1 month +2.0%+8.1%-4.5% -0.8%
3 months -6.0%+11.2%-14.6% +3.5%
6 months -1.2%+21.2%-4.8% +7.0%
Year to date -14.9%+7.5%+1.6% +12.2%
1 year -11.9%+7.0%+13.9% +13.0%
3 years +122.9%+68.5%+208.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +30.7%+19.0%+45.5% +23.1%
5 years +76.9%+82.8%+117.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +12.1%+12.8%+16.8% +11.0%
10 years +371.6%+494.4%+404.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +16.8%+19.5%+17.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAXPMAGSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.2%22.7%31.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.0%22.6%32.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.930.261.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.450.310.44 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.0%-28.6%-34.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.2%-3.0%-22.5% -1.8%
52-week high $384.89$632.81$1,152.07 $779.14
52-week low $292.27$471.55$773.70 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAXPMAGS
P/E now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 12.1x 33.3xmedian 13.1x 12.6xmedian 12.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 3.4x 15.2xmedian 3.2x 3.7xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 5.0x 22.7xmedian 6.9x —median 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 11.0x 32.0xmedian 10.9x -6.4xmedian 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 1.2x 95.2xmedian 1.2x 2.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.94median 1.36 1.70median 0.88 0.26median 1.36

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAXPMAGS
Revenue $77.59B $35.08B $69.70B
Operating income – $20.47B –
Net income $12.26B $16.26B –
Free cash flow $13.91B $16.70B –
EPS (diluted) $18.18 $18.41 $69.89
Cash & equivalents $43.20B $11.29B $177.00B
Total debt $59.95B $81.59B –
Shares (diluted) 674.00M 883.00M 304.90M
Enterprise value $10.36B $498.31B $273.64B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAXPMAGS
P/E 17.3x 33.3x 12.6x
P/FCF 15.2x 32.0x -6.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x 30.6x –
P/S 2.7x 15.2x 3.7x
P/B 5.9x 95.2x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 5.9x 3,685x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 8.8x 22.7x –
EV/EBIT 9.5x 26.8x –
EV/Revenue 2.9x 15.6x 3.7x
EV/FCF 16.0x 32.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 12.7x 31.4x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.94 1.70 0.26

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAXPMAGS
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.2% 16.0% 18.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 14.1% 15.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 21.3% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 16.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) 16.3% 19.7% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 16.7% –
EPS growth (1Y) 19.5% 23.2% 39.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 19.5% 49.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.6% 2.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% 14.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.6% 0.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.2% 14.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAXPMAGS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 32.6% 68.6% –
Operating margin – 58.3% –
Pretax margin 19.9% 57.5% –
Net margin 15.8% 46.3% –
FCF margin 17.9% 47.6% –
Operating cash flow margin 22.7% 49.7% –
Return on equity 35.0% 263.6% –
Return on assets 4.0% 29.5% –
Return on invested capital 19.6% 59.0% –
Return on capital employed – 68.1% –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAXPMAGS
Debt / assets 19.3% 42.7% –
Debt / equity 1.7x 4.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 0.6x –
Debt / FCF 4.3x 1.5x –
Liabilities / assets 88.5% 90.3% 94.3%
Equity / assets 11.5% 9.7% 5.7%
Interest coverage 3.0x 27.4x –
Current ratio – 1.1x –
Quick ratio – 0.7x –
Cash ratio – 0.5x –
Altman Z-score – 10.19 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAXPMAGS
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.6% 2.0%
Net buyback yield 3.2% 2.9% –
Shareholder yield 4.3% 3.5% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAXPMAGS
Forward P/E 17.9xFY2026 29.2xFY2026 11.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.56FY2026 $20.99FY2026 $75.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.2%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026 +46.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.2% +14.7% -6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $82.04BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026 $68.80BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.3% +0.4% +4.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAXPMAGS
Held by institutions 84.9% 88.6% 72.1%
Institutions holding 3,008 3,581 3,147
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +0.6% +1.1%
Institutions buying 1,473 1,587 1,551
Institutions selling 1,050 1,526 1,123
Buyers to sellers 1.40 1.04 1.38

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AXPMAGS
AXP 1.00 0.46 0.51
MA 0.46 1.00 0.10
GS 0.51 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AXP, MA and GS?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Express (AXP) $210.88B, Mastercard (MA) $538.39B, Goldman Sachs (GS) $273.64B.

Which stock is cheaper, AXP, MA and GS?

Goldman Sachs (GS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Express (AXP) 17.2x, Mastercard (MA) 33.1x, Goldman Sachs (GS) 12.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Goldman Sachs (GS) is cheapest (American Express (AXP) 17.9x, Mastercard (MA) 29.2x, Goldman Sachs (GS) 11.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Goldman Sachs (GS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Express (AXP) +10.2%, Mastercard (MA) +16.0%, Goldman Sachs (GS) +18.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (American Express (AXP) 15.8%, Mastercard (MA) 46.3%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (American Express (AXP) 19.6%, Mastercard (MA) 59.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Goldman Sachs (GS) returned the most: American Express (AXP) -11.9%, Mastercard (MA) +7.0%, Goldman Sachs (GS) +13.9%. Over five years, Goldman Sachs (GS) compounded fastest (American Express (AXP) +12.1%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +12.8%/yr, Goldman Sachs (GS) +16.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (American Express (AXP) 26.2%, Mastercard (MA) 22.7%, Goldman Sachs (GS) 31.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AXP, MA and GS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mastercard (MA) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.