American Express (AXP) risk factors: FY2025 10-K

1. Macroeconomic conditions are a major driver of our results of operations and changes in the business and economic environment may materially adversely affect our business.reworded
2. Our business is subject to the effects of geopolitical conditions, weather, natural disasters and other catastrophic events.
3. Our operating results may materially suffer because of substantial and increasingly intense competition worldwide in the payments industry.
4. We face intense competition for partner relationships, which could result in a loss or renegotiation of these arrangements that could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
5. Arrangements with our business partners represent a significant portion of our business. We are exposed to risks associated with our business partners, including reputational issues, business slowdowns, bankruptcies, liquidations, restructurings, consolidations and outages, and the possible obligation to make payments to our partners.
6. We face continued intense competitive pressure that may materially impact the prices we charge for accepting our cards for payment, as well as the risk of losing merchant relationships, which could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
7. Surcharging, steering or other differential acceptance practices by merchants could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.
8. We may not be successful in our efforts to promote card usage or attract new customers, including through marketing and promotion, merchant acceptance and Card Member rewards and services, or to effectively control the costs of such investments, all of which may materially impact our profitability.reworded
9. Our brand and reputation are key assets of our Company, and our business may be materially affected by how we are perceived in the marketplace.
10. If we are not able to successfully invest in, and compete with respect to, technological developments and new products and services across all our businesses, our revenue and profitability could be materially adversely affected.
11. We may not be successful in realizing the benefits associated with our acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint ventures and investment activity, and our business and reputation could be materially adversely affected.

Read these in Item 1A · See the changes

1. We may not be able to effectively manage the operational and compliance risks to which we are exposed.
2. A major information or cybersecurity incident could lead to reputational damage to our brand and material legal, regulatory and financial exposure, and could reduce the use and acceptance of our products and services.rewordedCybersecurity
3. The uninterrupted operation of our information systems is critical to our success and a significant disruption could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
4. Fraudulent activity associated with our products and services could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.new
5. Our business is subject to evolving and comprehensive government regulation and supervision, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
6. Litigation and regulatory actions could subject us to significant fines, penalties, judgments and/or requirements resulting in significantly increased expenses, damage to our reputation and/or a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
7. Legal proceedings regarding provisions in our merchant contracts, including non-discrimination and honor-all-cards provisions, could have a material adverse effect on our business and result in additional litigation and/or arbitrations, changes to our merchant agreements and/or business practices, substantial monetary damages and damage to our reputation and brand.
8. We rely on third-party providers for acquiring and servicing customers, technology, platforms and other services integral to the operations of our businesses. These third parties may act in ways or experience issues that could materially harm our business.reworded
9. Our use of models, including the data that underlie them, to manage risk and make business decisions may not be effective.reworded
10. Our success is dependent on maintaining a culture that adheres to our values and upon our executive officers and other key personnel, and misconduct by or loss of personnel could materially adversely affect our business.reworded
11. Regulation in the areas of privacy, data protection, data management, resiliency, data transfer, third party oversight, account access, AI & ML and information security and cybersecurity could increase our costs and affect or limit our business opportunities and how we collect, use and/or retain personal information.rewordedAICybersecurity
12. If we are not able to protect our intellectual property rights, or successfully defend against any infringement or misappropriation assertions brought against us, our revenue and profitability could be negatively affected.reworded
13. Tax legislative initiatives or assessments could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
14. Our operations, business, customers and partners could be adversely affected by climate-related risks.

Read these in Item 1A · See the changes

1. We are exposed to credit risk and trends that affect Card Member spending and the ability of customers and partners to pay us, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
2. Interest rate changes could materially adversely affect our earnings.Interest rates
3. We are subject to capital adequacy and liquidity rules, and if we fail to meet our capital and liquidity requirements, our business would be materially adversely affected.reworded
4. We are subject to restrictions that limit our ability to pay dividends and repurchase our capital stock. Our subsidiaries are also subject to restrictions that limit their ability to pay dividends to us, which may adversely affect our liquidity.
5. Adverse market conditions may significantly affect our access to, and cost of, capital and ability to meet liquidity needs.
6. Any reduction in our credit ratings could increase the cost of our funding from, and restrict our access to, the capital markets and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
7. Adverse currency fluctuations and foreign exchange controls could decrease earnings we receive from our international operations.
8. An inability to attract or maintain deposits could materially adversely affect our liquidity position and our ability to fund our business.reworded
9. The value of our investments may be adversely impacted by economic, political or market conditions.

Read these in Item 1A · See the changes