American Express

AmEx has a very solid financial foundation. It maintains regulatory capital well above minimum requirements. As of year-end 2024, AmEx had $40.6B in cash and equivalents against $49.7B of long-term debt).

Moreover, roughly 92% of its $139.4B in customer deposits are FDIC-insured), and these deposits nearly match the $139.7B of cardmember loans outstanding. Thus the lending is largely funded by stable deposits. Debt leverage is moderate: total liabilities $241B vs equity $30B (assets $271B)). The company also passed Fed stress tests easily.

Net credit losses have been low historically (2% of balances) and provisions are conservative. Overall financial strength scores 80: the balance sheet can weather downturns, though as a credit lender it remains exposed to consumer credit cycles.