American Express

CEO Stephen Squeri (in office since 2018) and his team have delivered consistent execution. Squeri is a long-serving AmEx executive with deep payments experience, and he has championed disciplined growth (record customer acquisition and spending) while maintaining an attractive capital plan.

The current CFO (since 2023) replaced previous leadership without operational hiccups. The board and insiders appear aligned: Berkshire Hathaway remains a top shareholder. Compensation is reasonable; equity incentives are used sparingly (only $500M SBC expense in 2024)) and have not unduly diluted owners.

Areas of concern: AmEx is not founder- or family-led, so it lacks the owner-manager dynamic. We observe no major governance issues, though CEO did sell some stock in 2024. Overall we score 70: management is competent and shareholder-aligned, but the absence of a driving founder caps the score.