American Express (AXP) Upcoming Catalysts

UPCOMING CATALYSTS ONLINE DEBIT AND PREPAID CARD GROWTH 11:30 AM AMERICAN EXPRESS TOOT? 3759 09/1 American Express has recently announced that it will be focusing on creating alternative sources of revenues in areas like online debit and mobile payments. It has also introduced a number of prepaid and debit products within the last year, such as BlueBird and Serve, in order to compete with Visa and MasterCard for processing commissions. Analysts see an upside to global debit card volumes and commissions, and view the move as a favorable catalyst which will spur revenue growth in the future. AmEx's online debit and prepaid card volumes increased to $600 million in:orra. 50% growth 2QFY13, a from last year's comparable quarter. This initial progress is very encouraging, and the company is expected to gain market share from competitors as it promotes the shift towards virtual banking, and mobile payments. OPERATING MARGIN GROWTH OPERATING MARGINS AND RETURN ON EQUITY American Express's operating margins have grown in recent quarters, but further improvements in margins and return on equity require successful organizational restructuring and implementation of cost-cutting measures. 40% 30% Return on Common Equity 20% Operating Margin 10% 0% FYO 6 FYO 7 FYO 8 FYO 9 FY1 0 FY1 1 FY1 2