AXP vs MA vs MCO Stock Comparison

American Express, Mastercard and Moodys Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AXP American Express Co
$312.92 +1.4% 1M -13.5% 1Y
Market cap
$209.97B
P/E
17.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
1.17%
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins
MA Mastercard Inc
$609.78 +7.4% 1M +6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$530.94B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
0.57%
Payment Networks Financial Services
7 wins
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$473.76 +1.0% 1M -4.3% 1Y
Market cap
$81.68B
P/E
28.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.85%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 7, American Express 4, Moodys 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAXPMAMCOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $209.97B $530.94B $81.68B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.2x 33.1x 28.4x AXP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.8x 29.1x 26.4x AXP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.2% +16.0% +9.0% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.8% 46.3% 35.3% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.6% 59.0% 27.9% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 0.6x 1.3x AXP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.17% 0.57% 0.85% AXP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.5% +6.5% -4.3% MA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.4%/yr +12.9%/yr +3.1%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.1% 22.7% 28.4% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 53/100 60/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

AXPMAMCO

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

AxisAXPMAMCO
Valuation 22 #282 of 360 14 #809 of 940 19 #758 of 940
Growth 39 #117 of 191 66 #226 of 655 73 #179 of 655
Profitability 67 #56 of 168 99 #8 of 633 96 #25 of 633
Financial Health 39 #107 of 175 49 #363 of 714 53 #338 of 714
Shareholder Returns 61 #134 of 341 36 #457 of 709 61 #279 of 709
Overall 46 53 60
  • AXP ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • MCO ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAXPMAMCOSPY
1 month +1.4%+7.4%+1.0% -0.2%
3 months -7.0%+8.4%-2.2% +3.9%
6 months -0.9%+20.1%+3.4% +8.2%
Year to date -15.4%+6.8%-7.3% +12.9%
1 year -13.5%+6.5%-4.3% +12.3%
3 years +121.4%+67.5%+56.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +30.4%+18.8%+16.2% +23.3%
5 years +79.2%+83.1%+16.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +12.4%+12.9%+3.1% +10.9%
10 years +367.5%+488.6%+363.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +16.7%+19.4%+16.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAXPMAMCOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.1%22.7%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.8%22.5%30.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.930.260.48 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.520.29-0.15 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.0%-28.6%-42.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.7%-3.6%-12.2% -1.2%
52-week high $384.89$632.81$539.61 $779.14
52-week low $292.27$471.55$412.23 $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.

MultipleAXPMAMCO
P/E now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 12.1x 33.1xmedian 13.0x 28.4xmedian 13.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 3.4x 15.1xmedian 3.2x 10.0xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 5.0x 22.6xmedian 7.4x 21.0xmedian 7.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 10.9x 31.8xmedian 10.8x 27.4xmedian 10.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 1.2x 94.6xmedian 1.2x 23.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.93median 1.34 1.69median 0.87 1.07median 0.87

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 monthsAXPMAMCO
Revenue $77.59B $35.08B $8.18B
Gross profit – – $6.10B
Operating income – $20.47B $3.64B
Net income $12.26B $16.26B $2.89B
Free cash flow $13.91B $16.70B $2.98B
EPS (diluted) $18.18 $18.41 $16.64
Cash & equivalents $43.20B $11.29B $1.51B
Total debt $59.95B $81.59B $6.91B
Shares (diluted) 674.00M 883.00M 173.30M
Enterprise value $9.45B $490.85B $74.75B

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
MetricAXPMAMCO
P/E 17.2x 33.1x 28.4x
P/FCF 15.1x 31.8x 27.4x
P/Operating cash flow 11.9x 30.4x 24.5x
P/S 2.7x 15.1x 10.0x
P/B 5.9x 94.6x 23.9x
P/Tangible book 5.9x 3,662x 47.5x
EV/EBITDA 8.8x 22.6x 21.0x
EV/EBIT 9.5x 26.6x 23.9x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 15.5x 10.6x
EV/FCF 15.9x 32.6x 29.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.6x 31.2x 26.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.93 1.69 1.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAXPMAMCO
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.2% 16.0% 9.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 14.1% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 10.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 14.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 21.3% 16.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 16.1% 23.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.3% 19.7% 28.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 16.7% 24.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.5% 23.2% 33.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 19.5% 26.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.6% 2.9% 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% 14.6% 17.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.6% 0.9% 24.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.2% 14.4% 18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAXPMAMCO
Gross margin – – 74.6%
EBITDA margin 32.6% 68.6% 50.6%
Operating margin – 58.3% 44.6%
Pretax margin 19.9% 57.5% 45.2%
Net margin 15.8% 46.3% 35.3%
FCF margin 17.9% 47.6% 36.4%
Operating cash flow margin 22.7% 49.7% 40.7%
Return on equity 35.0% 263.6% 87.8%
Return on assets 4.0% 29.5% 19.6%
Return on invested capital 19.6% 59.0% 27.9%
Return on capital employed – 68.1% 31.8%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.1x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.8% 2.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAXPMAMCO
Debt / assets 19.3% 42.7% 46.6%
Debt / equity 1.7x 4.4x 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 0.6x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 4.3x 1.5x 2.3x
Liabilities / assets 88.5% 90.3% 77.0%
Equity / assets 11.5% 9.7% 23.0%
Interest coverage 3.0x 27.4x –
Current ratio – 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio – 0.7x 1.3x
Cash ratio – 0.5x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 10.15 7.58

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAXPMAMCO
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.6% 0.9%
Net buyback yield 3.2% 3.0% 3.6%
Shareholder yield 4.4% 3.5% 4.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 24.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 23.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 8.8%

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.

ConsensusAXPMAMCO
Forward P/E 17.8xFY2026 29.1xFY2026 26.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.56FY2026 $20.99FY2026 $17.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.2%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.2% +14.7% -1.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $82.04BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026 $8.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.3% +0.4% -2.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAXPMAMCO
Held by institutions 84.9% 87.5% 90.8%
Institutions holding 3,009 3,583 1,404
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +0.6% -1.6%
Institutions buying 1,473 1,588 644
Institutions selling 1,051 1,527 522
Buyers to sellers 1.40 1.04 1.23

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.

AXPMAMCO
AXP 1.00 0.46 0.39
MA 0.46 1.00 0.45
MCO 0.39 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AXP, MA and MCO?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Express (AXP) $209.97B, Mastercard (MA) $530.94B, Moodys (MCO) $81.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, AXP, MA and MCO?

American Express (AXP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Express (AXP) 17.2x, Mastercard (MA) 33.1x, Moodys (MCO) 28.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Express (AXP) is cheapest (American Express (AXP) 17.8x, Mastercard (MA) 29.1x, Moodys (MCO) 26.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mastercard (MA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Express (AXP) +10.2%, Mastercard (MA) +16.0%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (American Express (AXP) 15.8%, Mastercard (MA) 46.3%, Moodys (MCO) 35.3%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (American Express (AXP) 19.6%, Mastercard (MA) 59.0%, Moodys (MCO) 27.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mastercard (MA) returned the most: American Express (AXP) -13.5%, Mastercard (MA) +6.5%, Moodys (MCO) -4.3%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (American Express (AXP) +12.4%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +12.9%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +3.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

American Express (AXP) has the highest dividend yield: American Express (AXP) 1.17%, Mastercard (MA) 0.57%, Moodys (MCO) 0.85%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (American Express (AXP) 26.1%, Mastercard (MA) 22.7%, Moodys (MCO) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.