Cover and table of contents

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Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

☑ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025

OR

☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to

Commission File No. 1-7657

AXP_BlueBoxLogo.jpg

American Express Company

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

New York13-4922250
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
200 Vesey Street New York, New York10285
(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 640-2000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Shares (par value $0.20 per Share)AXPNew York Stock Exchange
3.433% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Notes due May 20, 2032AXP32New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer þAccelerated filer oNon-accelerated filer oSmaller reporting company ☐Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. þ

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b). o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No þ

As of June 30, 2025, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting shares held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $221.8 billion based on the closing sale price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.

As of January 30, 2026, there were 686,614,005 common shares of the registrant outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III: Portions of Registrant’s Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 5, 2026.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Form 10-K Item NumberPage
PART I
1.Business1
Competition9
Supervision and Regulation11
Additional Information21
1A.Risk Factors22
1B.Unresolved Staff Comments37
1C.Cybersecurity37
2.Properties39
3.Legal Proceedings39
4.Mine Safety Disclosures39
PART II
5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities40
6.[Reserved]41
7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A)42
Executive Overview42
Consolidated Results of Operations45
Business Segment Results of Operations50
Consolidated Capital Resources and Liquidity61
Risk Management70
Critical Accounting Estimates77
Other Matters81
7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk87
8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data87
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting87
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 238)88
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements91
Consolidated Financial Statements92
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements97
9.Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure155
9A.Controls and Procedures155
9B.Other Information155
9C.Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections155
PART III
10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance156
11.Executive Compensation156
12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters156
13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence156
14.Principal Accountant Fees and Services157
PART IV
15.Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules158
16.Form 10-K Summary162
Signatures163
Statistical Disclosure by Bank Holding CompaniesA-1

Table of Contents

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “aim,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “likely,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar expressions. We discuss certain factors that affect our business and operations and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements under “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.

This report includes trademarks, such as American Express®, which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of American Express Company or its subsidiaries. This report also contains trademarks, service marks, copyrights and trade names of other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, our trademarks and trade names referred to in this report may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names.

Throughout this report the terms “American Express,” “we,” “our” or “us,” refer to American Express Company and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, unless stated or the context implies otherwise. The use of the term “partner” or “partnering” in this report does not mean or imply a formal legal partnership, and is not meant in any way to alter the terms of American Express’ relationship with any third parties. Amounts presented in this report may not sum and percentages may not recalculate due to rounding. Refer to the “Glossary of Selected Terminology” under “MD&A” for the definitions of other key terms used in this report.

Table of Contents

PART I

Next: Item 1. BUSINESS