Head to head · SEC data as of July 18, 2026
American Express
93
Quality score · out of 100
Capital One
60
Quality score · out of 100
American Express comes in ahead: a quality score of 93 versus 60 for Capital One. American Express wins on net margin (26.6% vs 5.5%), ROE (33% vs 2.9%) and earnings growth (31.8% vs -5.2%). Capital One answers with cash generation (FCF) (46.5% vs 33.9%).
| Metric | American Express | Capital One |
|---|---|---|
| Quality score (0-100) | 93 | 60 |
| Net margin | 26.6% | 5.5% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| ROE | 33% | 2.9% |
| Net debt/EBITDA | — | — |
| FCF margin | 33.9% | 46.5% |
| Revenue growth (annualized) | 13.2% | 14.7% |
| Earnings growth (annualized) | 31.8% | -5.2% |
TTM metrics with official SEC data, refreshed daily. Bold green marks the winner of each metric. A dash means the metric doesn't apply or isn't reliable.
American Express. American Express is both the payments network and the issuing bank for its cards, focused on affluent customers and businesses. It earns from the fees it charges merchants and the annual fees on its premium cards, plus interest.
Capital One. Capital One is a bank heavily focused on credit cards and consumer lending, plus auto finance. It earns mostly from card interest and fees, which makes it more profitable but also more sensitive to bad loans.
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What this comparison doesn't tell you
The score measures business quality, not whether the stock is cheap or expensive: the better company can be the worse investment if you overpay. For the valuation verdict, enter each one's current price in the analyzer:
Who has the stronger fundamentals today, American Express or Capital One?
By the StockSemáforo model (profitability, growth and financial strength, built on official SEC data), American Express scores higher: 93 versus 60 out of 100. The score is recomputed nightly with the latest filings.
Does that make American Express the better investment?
No. The score measures business quality, not valuation: an excellent company can trade at an excessive price and be a poor investment at that price. To find out whether it's cheap or expensive, enter its current quote in the StockSemáforo analyzer.
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Who's behind the methodology and model · how the score is computed
Data: official SEC filings (EDGAR) · Recomputed on July 18, 2026
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