American Express vs Capital One: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
American Express reported $72.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.8B of net income. Capital One reported $53.4B of revenue in FY2025 and $2.5B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
American Express
- Latest revenue
- $72.2B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $10.8B
- Net margin
- 15.0%
- Revenue growth
- +8.2% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Capital One
- Latest revenue
- $53.4B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $2.5B
- Net margin
- 4.6%
- Revenue growth
- +8.6% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Financial summary
American Express
American Express reported $72.2 billion in total revenues net of interest expense for FY2025, up 10 percent, and $10.8 billion of net income, or $15.38 per diluted share. The mix is less fee-only than its premium image suggests: discount revenue on merchant transactions was $37.4 billion, net interest income on card member loans was $17.4 billion, net card fees were $10.0 billion and service fees and other revenue were $7.5 billion. Growth in 2025 came disproportionately from the two smaller lines, with net card fees up 18 percent and net interest income up 12 percent against 6 percent growth in discount revenue. Return on average equity was 33.9 percent, the net write-off rate on consumer and small business loans and receivables was 2.0 percent, and the company declared $3.28 per share in dividends while average diluted shares fell from 713 million to 696 million.
Capital One
Capital One reported total net revenue of $53.4 billion in 2025, up 37% from $39.1 billion in 2024, largely because Discover was consolidated from May 18, 2025. GAAP net income fell to $2.5 billion as merger accounting and roughly $20.7 billion of credit loss provisions weighed on the year. Results improved in 2026: Q2 2026 net income was $3.0 billion ($4.73 per diluted share; $5.81 adjusted) on $15.9 billion of revenue, with an 8.01% net interest margin and a CET1 ratio of about 13.7%.
Revenue and profit by year
American Express
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $72.2B | $10.8B | 15.0% | +9.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $65.9B | $10.1B | 15.4% | +9.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $60.5B | $8.4B | 13.8% | +14.5% | Source |
| FY2022 | $52.9B | $7.5B | 14.2% | +24.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $42.4B | $8.1B | 19.0% | +17.4% | Source |
| FY2020 | $36.1B | $3.1B | 8.7% | -17.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $43.6B | $6.8B | 15.5% | +8.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $40.3B | $6.9B | 17.2% | +9.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $36.9B | $2.7B | 7.5% | +4.1% | Source |
| FY2016 | $35.4B | $5.4B | 15.2% | — | Source |
Capital One
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $53.4B | $2.5B | 4.6% | +36.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $39.1B | $4.8B | 12.1% | +6.3% | Source |
| FY2023 | $36.8B | $4.9B | 13.3% | +7.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $34.3B | $7.4B | 21.5% | +12.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $30.4B | $12.4B | 40.7% | +6.7% | Source |
| FY2020 | $28.5B | $2.7B | 9.5% | -0.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $28.6B | $5.5B | 19.4% | +1.8% | Source |
| FY2018 | $28.1B | $6B | 21.4% | +3.1% | Source |
| FY2017 | $27.2B | $2B | 7.3% | +6.8% | Source |
| FY2016 | $25.5B | $3.8B | 14.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
American Express
- Discount Revenue (Merchant Fees)~52%
Discount revenue is the fee American Express charges merchants on card transactions. It was $37,401 million in FY2025, up 6 percent, and equalled 2.24 percent of billed business. It remains the largest revenue line and moves with billed business, merchant mix and geography.
- Net Interest Income~24%
Net interest income is earned on card member loans and receivables after funding costs. It was $17,364 million in FY2025, up 12 percent, on a net interest yield of 8.1 percent, helped by growth in revolving balances and by lending features added to charge card products.
- Net Card Fees~14%
Net card fees are the annual fees on consumer, small business and corporate cards. They reached $9,993 million in FY2025, up 18 percent, at an average of $117 per proprietary card in force, driven by new acquisitions on fee-paying products and by the 2025 Platinum refresh.
- Service Fees and Other Revenue~10%
Service fees and other revenue was $7,471 million in FY2025, up 10 percent. It covers network partnership revenue from cards issued by partner banks, foreign currency fees on cross-currency spending, loyalty coalition and merchant service fees, delinquency fees, travel commissions and income from equity method investments.
Capital One
No segment breakdown is published.
Business model and strategy
American Express
How it makes money
American Express runs a closed-loop payments business: it issues the card, owns the network, underwrites the credit and contracts with the merchant. Visa and Mastercard only move the transaction between an issuing bank and an acquiring bank, so they never see both sides of a purchase.
Growth strategy
Amex's growth strategy is aggressively focused on capturing the next generation of wealthy spenders: Millennials and Gen Z. They have successfully revamped their well-known Platinum and Gold cards with perks tailored specifically for younger demographics (like Uber credits and dining rewards), resulting in rapid growth among younger cohorts.
Competitive advantage
American Express competes on the spending power of its card members rather than on price or ubiquity. Average spending per proprietary basic card member was $25,453 in 2025, which is the argument it makes to merchants who pay a higher discount rate, an average of 2.24 percent of billed business.
Capital One
How it makes money
Capital One makes most of its money from net interest income: it gathers deposits through Capital One 360 accounts, branches and Cafés, then lends that money out through credit cards, auto loans and commercial loans at higher rates. Its edge is Information-Based Strategy, testing thousands of variations of rates, credit lines and rewards to price each offer to a customer's risk profile.
Growth strategy
Capital One's growth strategy rests on owning more of the payments stack. With Discover closed in May 2025, it is shifting its own debit and, over time, credit card volume onto the Discover and PULSE networks to keep network fees in-house and build global acceptance.
Competitive advantage
Capital One's primary competitive advantage is its historical obsession with data analytics and its highly modern, cloud-native IT infrastructure. They were the first large US bank to completely shut down their legacy, on-premise data centers and move their entire operation to the public cloud (AWS). This gives them a large technological edge over older banks stuck on 1970s mainframes;
Questions about American Express vs Capital One
Which company has higher revenue — American Express Company or Capital One?
American Express Company reported $72.2B (FY2025), while Capital One reported $53.4B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, American Express Company is the larger business, with Capital One reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of American Express Company vs Capital One?
American Express Company's market capitalisation stands at $205.8B, while Capital One's is $125.0B. American Express Company carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Capital One.
Which is more financially efficient — American Express Company or Capital One?
American Express Company generates $940k / employee in revenue per employee, while Capital One generates $700k / employee. American Express Company shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do American Express Company and Capital One make money?
American Express Company and Capital One generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. American Express Company: American Express runs a closed-loop payments business: it issues the card, owns the network, underwrites the credit and contracts with the merchant. Capital One: Capital One makes most of its money from net interest income: it gathers deposits through Capital One 360 accounts, branches and Cafés, then lends that money out through credit cards, auto loans and commercial loans at higher rates.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — American Express Company or Capital One?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, American Express Company trades at 2.8x P/S and Capital One at 2.3x P/S. American Express Company commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Capital One. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is American Express Company bigger than Capital One?
By last reported revenue, American Express Company ($72.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Capital One ($53.4B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the American Express vs Capital One overview