Express

Christina Austin

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 66th running of the list.

Fortune 500

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 65th running of the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 64th running of the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 63rd running of the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 62nd running of the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 61st running of the list. Wal-Mart claims the top spot again. See who made the list.

Wal-Mart stayed on top as its sales crept closer to half-a-trillion dollars. Apple moved into the top five. And UnitedHealth Group continued its steady climb. 

Key Financials (last Fiscal Year)

Revenues ($M)

Profits ($M)

Assets ($M)

Total Stockholder Equity ($M)

Profit Ratios

Profit as % of Revenues

Profits as % of Assets

Profits as % of Stockholder Equity

Earnings Per Share (last Fiscal Year)

Earnings Per Share ($)

EPS % Change (from prior fiscal year)

Total Return

Total Return to Investors (last year)

Total Return to Investors (5 year, annualized)

Express (EXPR): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

legacy

express

Express (EXPR): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings | Fortune

Kyogu Lee, Co-founder and President of Supertone, is reimagining voice for the age of artificial creativity. He reveals how Supertone’s ethical, AI-powered tools are amplifying artistry and reshaping the future of sound. From multilingual vocals to real-time vocal transformation, his work is opening new possibilities for creators in music, film, and more. Featuring a live tech demo, we'll explore how AI can amplify human expression without replacing it.

Voicing The Future

Conferences

OK No. So thanks everyone for joining my debut as a K-pop star. There will be autographs after this session, but in all seriousness, you know, um. In all seriousness, thanks to Supertone, I was able to be part of this duet with Cindy, a group made of AI-based voice characters. I'm excited to be here with Supertone co-founder and president Ko Go Lee. Artists around the world are using AI to expand their narrative and creative possibilities rather than fearing it will replace them. Singers are working to actually co-create. with voice AI tools and we're going to take an in-depth look at some of the real world tools that are changing creativity and artistry. So let's get started, you know, I want to start by asking like what you guys actually did. So for context, I gave Superone three videos of me singing in my hotel room, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Uh, I heard it through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye, Pink Houses by John Mellencamp. I gave Supertone these videos and you know, voila, thanks to AI, what you heard was the result. But what actually is Supertone doing with with these voices? OK, so let, let me first uh ask you a couple of questions. Uh, do you speak Korean? No. OK. Are you a good singer? I don't think so. OK. So, uh, and that's what we achieved at Superone. So let me tell you, uh, so we developed a foundational model for voice generation and you can think of it as a larger language model like KGBT or loud, but for voice. So, our model can generate incredibly natural and expressive voices, including singing voices using inputs uh such as uh a speech, singing voice, text or melodies. And in this demo we uh transformed the original singer's performance into your voice. We call this uh thing with convergence. So unfortunately we didn't use any of your videos. We just took the audio of your recordings and to add more detail so our model can. Uh, take as an input any speech or sy signal and break it into four different attributes. The first one is a pitch and the loudness, I can whisper, I can speak louder, right? And the timbre, which reflects most of your or anyone's the vocal identity and linguistic content. Of course, it depends on what kind of language you are speaking. So we have two recordings, right, original singer performance and your recordings. So we take them as inputs and we break them into these four attributes I just I just mentioned and we took. Uh, the, uh, the timbre part from your recording and the rest the three, the lingu consonants pitch and loudies from the original performance, and you can mix them together to reconstruct the singing voice which is in your voice. That's what happened, and, and there's, there are some other things that your that that your AI can do and you're gonna show us actually now kind of what what your programs can do to someone's voice. OK, so, uh, imagine you're an artist. And working on your next album. And for this new album, you want something different, you want something new, uh, totally different from your previous albums. So you have, uh, you are ready to explore this bold new idea, but your natural voice doesn't quite match well with your artistic vision. So with this uh voice technology. Uh, we can instantly, uh, transform your voice into other musical personas to bringing new, uh, different musical identities to life. So, uh, let me show you how it works right here live because, uh, listening is believing. So when I speak, Like this The energy does a shit, doesn't it? So you can feel a different kind of presence, a calm, yet very powerful. Now, notice how capital my voice changes to the feminine to. It's much lighter, brighter. And carries a complete uh different kind of energy in the field. I can even sing very high notes that I can with my natural voice. So you know, I, the, the clip we showed earlier was, was me and a duet with the virtual group Cindy H. it's a fully AI generated virtual group, you know, what does it mean to have a fully AI generated pop group? What does it actually mean in terms of how they perform? What music they're putting out. What does this project actually mean? OK, so let me explain. So this product, it was a very bold experiment uh from our side as well. So we started two years ago and we wanted to showcase our like a voice technology, how we can uh empower the, the creators or, or the world uh to unlock their creative potential. So we formed uh this kind of virtual group. And uh which is composed of four female singers. So let's, uh, I mean, assume that you are a producer. So you have this idea of this virtual uh girl group and we have different uh personas, uh, four of them. And uh we have songwriters, we have some music, and we have a production engineers and everything. So you have the songs and everything is ready. So if you're a producer, what would you do next? What, what's gonna be your next step to actually produce music? I mean, they, I mean, you have to let them sing and record the performances and Uh, in, in, in the legacy, uh, media production, you need to, I mean, resort to human, uh, Personnel, I mean, the singers, artists, right? And you need to uh find uh the very good artist that matches your artistic vision. And we, I mean, usually do an audition or casting uh to accomplish that, but in this case, we designed a unique voice, voices for uh each of them. So our technology can uh design or create uh theoretically unlimited number of unique voices that Or never heard before. So for this uh 4 members, we created their voices uniquely and using our singing voice synthesis, uh, model, we put the melodies and lyrics and let the models sing. So with all of these AI models that that can generate kind of these new voices, they are always very impressive, um, they are very impressive about what they can do. They're also a little bit, you know, spooky at times, you know, and there have been, there have been debates about, you know, about voices sounding like celebrities and celebr. being upset about that, but you know how is Supertone navigating this? What, what are the kind of the, the rules of the road that need to be set down involving, you know, voices who owns them, the voices you generate from them? Are you thinking about these ethical questions? Yes, this is a very good question. So, uh, the respect and consent, uh, for the audience rights must always come first. So a Superone. We, uh, we have very clear and transparent licensing frameworks and the uh license approved, uh, the, the uses, uh, from the, the artists or creators themselves. So we never use their vocal identity without explicit and informed consent. That's how we uh build trust between the the the. The artists and the creators, so they, that's why how we can, I mean, uh, accomplish this uh past projects over the past few years, you know, Korea's cultural industry is very strong, you know, K-pop, K-dramas, K music. Um, and you know you're operating K-pop space. You work with hive, you know, what's the interest in Korea for embracing these new AI tools? Are they excited to adopt them? Is there some hesitance? What's the mood like in Korea about? Well, it's, it's, it's both, I mean, like every other country, I mean some people see it as a huge potential for the content creation. New ways of uh exploring the fresh ideas and everything, but the other parties, especially the uh the artists and the creators themselves, uh, some of them uh look at this technology as a very uh threatening because it could um replace the, the human artist, but I don't agree with that because I mean. Uh, it's tool. I mean we, we see the creators and artists as co-creators or collaborators, uh, which means that in, uh, they, uh, we collaborate with them not only in some specific project. But also when we uh develop and refine the technologies so that uh we can reflect their feedback and concerns to better shape our products and uh and the, the tools. You know, I was thinking about, you know, technology and music and the idea of virtual bands. I mean, it's not a new idea. Guerrillas in 2005 is a virtual band. Japan has vocaloid software where you can use to generate songs. Japan also has, you know, their own virtual pop stars. Yes, Avatars in front of a human performer, but still, I mean, there the persona is, is artificial. Um, but this seems to be kind of a step beyond that. Where do you see entertainment developing, whether it's in terms of AI assisted artists or even wholly AI generated artists, where do you see entertainment developing in the next, you know, 5, even 10 years? Well, one thing for sure that uh this before we say that technology along with the other technologies. Uh, it will, uh, democratize the creative process for sure. So the, uh, look at every creator or artist can uh expand with new technology to uh explore and experiment with new ideas. I mean, it can empower, empower them to, uh, I mean, yeah, uh. Expand their boundaries and deepen the connection with their fans and collaborate with other artists as well. So I think it's a uh uh both a an opportunity for the creators and the and the uh uh so that they can, I mean, uh engage uh with audience. More immersively and more interactively and, and how do you see Superton's journey over the next 5 to 10 years? You know, Entertainment will change and there will be more brace these AI tools and artists. How do you want Supertone and its journey to change over the next 5, 10 years? Well, so. We, uh, as I said, over the past years, we have, uh, collaborated with many artists, producers, directors, writers, and all kinds of creators, and they help us, uh, define and reshape our tools. And they are also uh affected by the tools and the technology we have developed so they can try new experiments and everything. So I mean, as, as, as with all the technologies we have, uh, witnessed, uh, so far, I think the AI is is another yet very powerful tool for co-creation and collaboration. So that's where our super uh what I mean, has been. Having and this will be the way that we can still uh explore with the the creators and and and and so when you do this, this kind of voice work I mean who ends up who ends up owning the final product, um, you know, is it, is it the person who contributed their voice is it Supertone kind of how does the. Either like who owns it and how do you think like these thoughts about IP need to change with more AI systems? Yeah, it's like a conventional music production if I uh take an example for music because I mean in music there are many uh right holders, right? The the production company and the Uh, the agencies and the and the singers were performance as well. It's, it's same as this. So it's like, uh, I mean, if we uh contribute to a singing voices uh by uh uh by obtaining the rights for the uh the voice owners, then, uh, the, the singing part belongs to this voice owner or artist or whoever. Um, you know, maybe to help kind of close things up. I mean, obviously this, this works in Korean, it works in the K-pop genre, but you know what's a music genre that you might want to try next? If you could, if you could spend time to get this AI model right, what's another genre of music that you would really want to test this with new genre or existing genre? Well, I'm as a, as a huge fan of the, the 70s, 80s wrong in metal band and yeah, uh, rest in peace of Osborne who passed away. Yeah, so yeah, that's because I mean it's, it's very technically challenging and the growling sound and everything, the vocal idity, that's very challenging. So that's, I mean, as a technology provider I like to, that's where I like to try and experiment with my, I mean our technology. Do your, do your models yet work with other languages other than Korean? Oh yeah, sure, yeah, it can work I mean in any. Well, I think this has been a great conversation. It was really great to, to see this work for myself again to see, to see my voice change into this K-pop song. Um, it really was a remarkable experience. I really want to thank you, Kyogu and Supertone team for walking us through this and showing us how this all works. Please thank Kogu and the Supertone team for their work. Thank you very much. So yeah.

As artificial intelligence reshapes the foundations of innovation, how we design, fund, and govern technology has never mattered more. We’ll talk with a policy strategist, a systems thinker, and a market-focused investor to explore how our collective choices can shape AI not just for scale—but for human flourishing. From institutional trust and design frameworks to capital flows and societal risk, we'll unpack what it means to invest in both human and machine intelligence in ways that are ethical, adaptive, and imaginative. At the crux of this conversation is creativity itself: how can generative AI unlock new forms of expression, co-creation, and cultural value—and what it will take to fund and govern those possibilities responsibly?

Intelligence by Design: Aligning Policy, Capital, and Creativity in the Age of AI

Luxury train travel is experiencing a boom: with sold-out trips, soaring demand, and waitlists stretching into the thousands. Once a niche offering, the industry now draws affluent travelers looking for unique, slow-paced experiences. Here’s an inside look at what’s fueling this resurgence and what’s behind the eye-popping price tags – including Railbookers’ 59-day, $124,000 around-the-world itinerary. 


 Luxury Train Travel Is Booming — Here’s Why Travelers Are Paying Over $100K a Ticket

Luxury train travel is seeing a massive boom in popularity. 

Executive_Travel

Here’s an inside look at what’s fueling the luxury train travel boom and what’s behind the eye-popping price tags – including Railbookers’ 59-day, $124,000 around-the-world itinerary. 


Luxury Train Travel Is Booming — Here’s Why Travelers Are Paying Over $100K a Ticket

Luxury train travel is experiencing a boom: with sold-out trips, soaring demand, and waitlists stretching into the thousands. Here’s an inside look at what’s fueling this resurgence and what’s behind the eye-popping price tags. 

Luxury train travel is experiencing a boom: with sold-out trips, soaring demand, and waitlists stretching into the thousands. 

For $124,000 you could fly private or ride a luxury train around the globe. Once considered a nostalgic novelty, high-end rail travel is booming, and it speaks to a larger shift that's happening in the upper reaches of the travel market. Luxury rail is having its moment. Most of our travels are not rail aficionados either. They're just looking for that experience to say, Oh, let's try that by train. Over the last few years, demand for luxury train travel has. Skyrocketed with weightless stretching into the thousands. So as of now going into next year, we have just over 1500 people on the waitlist. But in the era of booming luxury travel, some high-end rail experiences with prices reportedly topping $100,000 a night can feel out of reach compared to other options. Here's what's fueling the growth of luxury train travel and why wealthy passengers are opting for private cabins with curated journeys around the globe. In the late 19th century, luxury trains like Europe's Orient Express defined high society travel. Kings, queens, and master spies all travel in the same opulent surroundings. Now that type of golden age experience is once again drawing wealthy travelers to the rails. So when it comes to luxury travel, the rail itself is the destination. Frank Marini is the CEO of Rail Bookers. The rail-focused tour operator works with various luxury train companies to craft custom end to end rail vacations around the world. We connect luxury rail with hotels, sightseeing, national trains all over the world to customize and personalize any trip for any guest. In the past few years, the company has seen skyrocketing demand. Last year was the best year in the company's history. This year is already the best year in the company's history. Unlike bus tours and flights that simply get you there, rail Booker says luxury train travel makes the journey itself the experience. The train sees places that you can't see by car, by boat. It's also in many cases, your dining experience, your hotel experience, even your social experience. The boom in luxury rail parallels a broader resurgence in train travel. Global passenger numbers have climbed steadily over the past 4 years. We've seen in the past year at least a 65% year over year growth in our luxury rail travel in general. Terry Minson is the president of Intelli Travel, a global host travel agency with over 100,000 members. Rail, luxury rail in particular, used to be a bit of an older, maybe demographic, and I think the demographic has even changed a lot. Seeing a lot of millennial and Gen Z is even wanting to to experience a luxury rail vacation with that bragging rights and it's the sustainability element of our too, which is really appealing to like the millennial and you know Gen Z demographics. In the US alone, Amtrak set an all-time ridership record in 2024, a 15% increase from the previous year. Rail travel prior to COVID was on a growth pattern for many years, and COVID happened, but post that it's extraordinary and it's rocketed, especially in the luxury rail segment, and part of it is how people are valuing life post-COVID. People are not waiting. In 2024, Rail Booker's luxury bookings jumped 55% year over year. The company credits this post-pandemic surge to a renewed appetite for immersive slow travel adventures. Unlike bullet trains that hit nearly 200 MPH, luxury trains intentionally travel at a slower pace. You could have anything from a Michelin style chef on the train. The accommodations are world class, world class entertainment. Luxury rail companies say their amenities are designed to match 5 star standards from private bathrooms with heated floors to personalized service from onboard butlers. So luxury really. Sometimes brings you back to a period of time whether it's getting dressed up in a tuxedo for one night. It's the piano player at the bar playing till the last person leaves at 4 in the morning. They want every aspect to be perfect. Another draw of luxury rail travel is off the beaten path experiences from journeys in the Italian countryside and rural Japan to itineraries in the Peruvian Andes, but they don't come cheap. Rail Booker's 2025 around the world rail journey costs $124,000. The 59 day trip spans more than 20 cities across 12 countries aboard seven different high-end trains. You'd see around the world by cruise. You'd see around the world by private jet, and we kind of brainstormed to say, Well, what about could you do it by rail, and then what about luxury rail? And we put it out there and the demand has been extraordinary, mostly because people didn't know you could actually do it. Throughout the four continent trek, customers can go on a safari in India, cruise the Ganges River, and receive a private tour of the Louvre Museum. As of June 2025, rail Booker said the experience had a waitlist of over 1500 travelers. These customers are definitely well traveled customers. These are not first time travelers. They're looking for unique experiences. Some of the most expensive rail offerings come from Belmont, a luxury hospitality and leisure company. We have a portfolio currently and soon to be 7 trains around the world. Probably the most famous is the Venice Simpler Orient Express. Which has been running since 1982. Belmont's Grand suits are among its most sought after options. A two night journey aboard the Royal Scotsman train starts at around €13,000 per person. When we introduced the Grand Suites, it was pre-pandemic on the Veniceson Orange Express. After our first year, we realized that they were effectively all sold out for the year. They're generally the first to sell. They're the ones that are in demand. We often have waitlists for those on particular journeys, but the luxury rail market's growth extends beyond the ultra wealthy demographics. For two nights on Canada's Rocky Mountaineer train, a standard cabin starts at about $600 US dollars. A big thing that we've seen was what I like to call little luxury. So is this whole group of people who want that little bit of luxury but not the whole luxury. So it may be that two day, one night on the Orient Express. Well, that's their anniversary. That's the bucket list, but then they may continue on to other parts of Italy. So we're seeing much more customization across the board. Still, the luxury travel market is crowded with cruise lines, private jets, and 5 star resorts all vying for a similar demographic of wealthy travelers. I think the impression of rail in particular is that you know you're riding on a rackety old train and you know it's not comfortable and it's really just a means of transportation and it's really changed a lot. I think that the challenge that rail is having is just continuously looking to change that mindset and build better brand awareness. Luxury cruises occupy a similar corner of the market. Premium brands like Regent 7Cs offer global voyages. That start at around $86,000. If you can afford and you want that luxury experience, that Belmont, that $12,000 you know, suite, um, by all means you, you can find it on rail just as much as you can find it on cruise, just as much as you can find it on land as well. And while airlines and cruise lines tend to offer budget friendly tiers to attract a broader audience, luxury rail is embracing a more exclusive approach. Some companies like Belmont are enticing wealthy travelers with pricey upgrades. Because our grand suites were so popular, we really thought that there was a need for, uh, you know, perhaps another level of accommodation. On Belmont's Venice Simp and Orient Express, a night in the observatoire suite reportedly starts at around $100,000. The more than 330 square foot suite is the train's largest accommodation spanning an entire carriage. You have your own private butler, you know, you can have your meals in that compartment or you can go along and have the meals in the restaurant. Actually, the space is yours. Belmont is also expanding its luxury train footprint. It's our new sleeping train which is called the Britannic Explorer. Offering 3 night itineraries to some spectacular scenery throughout England and Wales, I think we're at the beginning of the reboom. I look at different categories that I've seen across the years. Let's say glamping, right? You see things coming in and out, and they come in for a period of time and then people forget what happened to them. But rail travel, I think this is just the beginning.

American Express is winning over Gen-Z by offering curated experiences and personalized rewards that resonate with younger audiences. In 2023, Gen Z accounted for 75% of new American Express Platinum and Gold cardholders, drawn to benefits like exclusive event access and dining perks. This video explores how Amex's strategy of tapping into experiential rewards is transforming the credit card landscape and setting new standards for customer loyalty. 

How Gen-Z Made Amex Cool 

In the first quarter of 2025, Millennials and Gen Z drove over 60% of new global Amex sign-ups. 

Features

American Express built its brand on elite travel benefits and luxury perks – but now it’s shifting to win over a younger audience: Gen Z. 

American Express built its brand on elite travel benefits and luxury perks, but now it's shifting to win over a younger audience, Gen Z. That's the powerful backing of American Express. In the first quarter of 2025, Millennials and Gen Z drove over 60% of new global Amex signups fueled in part by influencer-driven buzz. Hear me out. Get the platinum AMEX card. It's metal and it goes. Things at the heart of this growth is Amex's loyalty and rewards program. So especially as everything costs more, if you can get champagne travel on a beer budget, that's a lot of what Gen Z and millennials are trying to achieve. Here's a closer look at how this 170-year-old credit card giant is evolving to stay relevant with the next generation of cardholders. For decades, American Express was the go to card for luxury travelers and the business elite, built on prestige and premium perks. My name is Tina Fey. Oh, go right in. Really, that worked. Are you aware that you can access over 120 lounges simply by showing the platinum card? But that image. and its older customer base is shifting. In 2023 alone, Gen Z and Millennials accounted for 75% of Amex's new platinum and gold card accounts. Gen Zers are actually bigger risk takers with their money. They came of age though at a different time. It was actually around the pandemic time when money was actually flowing freely. People got all that stimulus money. A lot of Gen Z's introduction to money, at least in adulthood, was more gambling on meme stocks and crypto. We've actually seen Gen Zers proving a lot more risk takers with their money, and that includes taking on debt and also taking on riskier investments. A study from TransUnion found 84% of Gen Z consumers aged 22 to 24. Had at least one credit card by the end of 2023. That's a 23% higher rate than millennials at the same age a decade ago. Millennials were famously debt averse, very slow to get credit cards, perhaps because they have hefty student loan burdens, and many grew up around the time of the financial crisis. Gen Z spends differently too. Unlike older generations who prioritized travel upgrades in airport lounges, Gen Z is putting more of their money towards experiences. and lifestyle, and Amex is leaning in. They'll get you a free global entry or TSA PreCheck membership. They have their own special lounges at certain music festivals and sporting events. You get a little bit off your media subscriptions. You get a little bit off Uber. You get a little bit off these food delivery apps, but it is sticky and it keeps people coming back for more. Amex's business model makes it uniquely positioned to build out this rewards ecosystem. Unlike many of its competitors that just run the payment networks, Amex operates in a closed loop system. That means it handles everything in-house, functioning as the issuer, the acquirer, and the network. Amex has a unique business model in that they're both a lender and a payment processor. Visa and Mastercard dominate the network side of things, but they're not lenders. They're not extending credit. Amex is playing both sides of that. That full picture view. From both shoppers and merchants gives Amex an advantage. It knows where customers are spending and can tailor company rewards to keep them coming back. There's something about getting 4x points when paying for dinner with this card that just hits different. Gen Z and millennials use their Amex cards for dining nearly twice as much as other generations, according to the company. Amex saw an opportunity and moved fast. In 2019, the company acquired Resi, a restaurant reservation platform that Cardholders early access to in-demand tables, and in 2024 it expanded its dining ecosystem by acquiring the high-end restaurant booking service Talk, as well as Rome, a mobile payments app. When you're with Amex Gold, you can stack 4 times points on restaurants around the world. Amex has really leaned into dining as one of their key experiences. They have elevated dining rewards on a bunch of their credit cards, but Also relates to the experience aspect where they can help you book a table at a fancy restaurant. They can sometimes offer chef tutorials and meet and greets, and I'm right here in New York City for the American Express Platinum Coast dining experience. Amex also taps into brand partnerships to appeal to a younger audience. Y'all already know by now that my first job every single year at Coachella is always the Amex experience. Influencer marketing. It is a big deal. They do these activations at film festivals and concerts and music festivals and things like that. It is a way to reach young people. These rewards are designed to keep younger cardholders spending. This boosts transaction volume and in turn drives up revenue. Everybody wants a freebie, right? So especially as everything costs more, if you can get champagne travel on a beer budget, that's a lot of what Gen Z and millennials are trying to achieve. If it really keeps people loyal, keeps them spending. That loyalty has been key to Amex's growth, even with hefty annual fees, nearly $700 for premium cards like the platinum. Younger cardholders are still signing up. The annual fee thing is interesting because that shows how sticky their audience is that, you know, every so often, every few years, they introduce new features on a card and they raise the annual fee, and the renewal. Percentage is apparently very, very high. The people are loyal to these cards. They like the perks they're getting. The competition for these young and affluent spenders is fierce. The rewards race is on, and competitors like Chase, Capital One, and Mastercard are catching up. It's a copycat industry, and we're seeing a lot of that. Chase and Capital One are following the Amex playbook when it comes to luxury travel cards, getting you into the airport lounge, building out their own propriety. lounges. That was something that Amex really pioneered. Take the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It offers premium travel perks, dining rewards, and access to lounges. Once a hallmark of Amex's platinum card. They have a lot more challengers now than they used to, and in fact, Capital One's a real up and coming competitor. They're in the process of acquiring Discover. That's going to make them an even more worthy competitor. They've been building out airport lounges. They've been in. Producing premium luxury travel cards. Chase had a big shot across the bow in 2016 when they introduced that Sapphire reserve card, and that's going toe to toe with Amex Platinum. And American Express is watching for more than just competition. It's also bracing for broader economic headwinds, including the potential impact of rising tariffs. Market volatility and investor jitters over tariffs already contributed to a dip in the company's stock price. are already worried about inflation and the high cost of living. If tariffs make that more expensive, there's a fear that we could tip into recession and that this could kind of be the straw that broke the camel's back. A recession is still bad news for any sort of payments provider. If people are spending less, that pie is shrinking. In its April 2025 earnings call, Amex CEO Steve Squareri acknowledged those risks, but pointed to the company's affluent customer base as a buffer. If you look at our card base now versus our card base in 2019, it is more premium than it was at that point with higher FICOs. And the other thing that I'll say, our millennial and Gen Zs are performing significantly better both from a FICO perspective and from a delinquency perspective than the industry. That high spending, low risk consumer base may help shield the company. From some economic turbulence, the companies that would likely fare the worst in a recession are those that cater to more of a subprime audience, those who have customers with lower incomes, lower credit scores. The Amex audience is very resilient. Delinquencies across the industry have gone up. They haven't gone up as much at Amex, and that's also reflective of the customer base and could bode at least better if there is a downturn.

Express

Express stock chart

Videos