Head to head · SEC data as of July 15, 2026
American Express
93
Quality score · out of 100
Mastercard
93
Quality score · out of 100
On paper this one is nearly a draw: American Express scores 93 and Mastercard scores 93 out of 100 in our fundamental quality model. American Express wins on earnings growth (31.8% vs 21%). Mastercard answers with net margin (45.9% vs 26.6%), ROE (231.7% vs 33%) and cash generation (FCF) (52.4% vs 33.9%).
| Metric | American Express | Mastercard |
|---|---|---|
| Quality score (0-100) | 93 | 93 |
| Net margin | 26.6% | 45.9% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| ROE | 33% | 231.7% |
| Net debt/EBITDA | — | 0.53× |
| FCF margin | 33.9% | 52.4% |
| Revenue growth (annualized) | 13.2% | 16.4% |
| Earnings growth (annualized) | 31.8% | 21% |
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.
Mastercard. Mastercard runs one of the world's largest payment networks. Like Visa, it doesn't lend money or issue cards: it takes a small fee on every transaction across its network, a high-margin and very stable model.
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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 Mastercard?
They're practically tied: American Express and Mastercard score 93 and 93 out of 100 in the StockSemáforo model (profitability, growth and financial strength, built on official SEC data). 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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