American Express Company (AXP) Proxy filing summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record revenues of $72.2B in 2025, up 10% year-over-year, with net income of $10.8B and EPS of $15.38, reflecting strong execution of growth strategy and premium customer focus.

• Returned $7.6B to shareholders via share repurchases and dividends, with a 26% one-year TSR, outperforming the S&P Financials Index by 11 percentage points.

• Added 12.5M new proprietary cards, expanded global merchant coverage to over 170M locations, and maintained best-in-class credit performance.

• Board recommends voting for all director nominees, ratification of PwC as auditor, and approval of executive compensation; recommends voting against two shareholder proposals.

Voting matters and shareholder proposals

• Shareholders to vote on election of 13 directors, ratification of PwC as auditor, advisory say-on-pay, and two shareholder proposals (transgender healthcare report and political bias risk oversight), with Board recommending against both proposals.

• Proxy access rights and majority voting for directors in uncontested elections are in place.

Board of directors and corporate governance

• Board consists of 14 members (13 independent), with three new independent directors added in 2025.

• Board diversity includes a mix of gender, race, and professional backgrounds; average tenure is 5 years, average age 64.

• Lead Independent Director and robust committee structure ensure effective oversight; annual board and committee evaluations conducted.

• Strong governance practices include prohibition of hedging/pledging, mandatory retirement age, and significant share ownership requirements.