American Express vs Ramp: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
American Express reported $72.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.8B of net income. Ramp reported $1B of revenue in FY2025 and — 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
Ramp
- Latest revenue
- $1B (FY2025)
- Net income
- —
- Net margin
- 0.0%
- Revenue growth
- +115.4% a year, FY2022–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.
Ramp
Ramp is private and does not publish audited financials, so its numbers come from company statements and press reports. It reached $100 million in annualized revenue by early 2022, about $300 million in 2024 and $1 billion by August-September 2025. In June 2026 CEO Eric Glyman said Ramp was free-cash-flow positive and that total payment volume grew about 170% year over year in March 2026. Bloomberg reported annualized revenue above $1.5 billion around the June 2026 raise; Ramp itself only confirmed 'more than $1 billion'. It has raised more than $3 billion in equity to date.
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 |
Ramp
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $1B | — | 0.0% | +233.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $300M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
| FY2022 | $100M | — | 0.0% | — | 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.
Ramp
- Card interchange
Majority (not disclosed)
Fees paid by merchants when customers spend on Ramp physical and virtual cards, net of cash back returned to customers.
- Software subscriptions (Ramp Plus)
Not disclosed
Per-user fees for advanced controls, multi-entity accounting, procurement and other premium features.
- Payments, treasury and financing
Not disclosed
Bill pay and international payment fees, treasury yield and working-capital products.
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.
Ramp
How it makes money
Ramp runs a card-led software model. Its corporate cards are free to use, and Ramp earns interchange, the fee merchants pay on each card transaction, while returning part of it to customers as cash back. On top of the card it sells Ramp Plus, a paid per-user software tier with advanced controls, multi-entity accounting and procurement features.
Growth strategy
Ramp's growth plan has three parts: move upmarket from startups to mid-market and large enterprises; add products that capture more of a company's outgoing money (bill pay, procurement, travel, treasury); and use AI agents to automate finance work such as expense review and policy enforcement. The 2026 Series F was tied explicitly to building tools for controlling AI spend.
Competitive advantage
Ramp's edge is software speed and incentive alignment. It ships expense, AP, procurement and AI agent features quickly and bundles them with a free card, so a finance team can replace a card issuer, an expense tool and an AP tool with one system.
Questions about American Express vs Ramp
Which company has higher revenue — American Express Company or Ramp Business Corporation?
American Express Company reported $72.2B (FY2025), while Ramp Business Corporation reported $1.0B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, American Express Company is the larger business, with Ramp Business Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of American Express Company vs Ramp Business Corporation?
American Express Company has a market capitalisation of $205.8B. A public market cap figure for Ramp Business Corporation was not available (it may be privately held).
Which is more financially efficient — American Express Company or Ramp Business Corporation?
American Express Company generates $940k / employee in revenue per employee, while Ramp Business Corporation generates $833k / 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 Ramp Business Corporation make money?
American Express Company and Ramp Business Corporation 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. Ramp Business Corporation: Ramp runs a card-led software model.
Is American Express Company bigger than Ramp Business Corporation?
By last reported revenue, American Express Company ($72.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Ramp Business Corporation ($1.0B (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 Ramp overview