American Express stock has been performing better than Visa and Mastercard. Visa and Mastercard have been facing harsh scrutiny from regulators worldwide. Meanwhile, American Express has been benefitting from the high-interest rate environment.

The stock price of American Express, listed as AXP on NYSE, has significantly outperformed Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) in the year 2024. In fact, the total return of American Express has surged by more than 25% this year, while Visa has only shown an increase of 4.8% and Mastercard by 7.4%.

This outperformance has been consistent over the last five years. American Express's total return has been above 122% in the past five years, compared to Visa and Mastercard whose returns were at 75% and 93% respectively.

The main difference between American Express and Visa/Mastercard is that American Express also acts as a card issuer besides being a payment network. Visa and Mastercard, on the other hand, earn their revenue mainly from transaction fees. American Express customers are typically more affluent, and the company is more exposed to credit defaults compared to Visa and Mastercard.

Visa and Mastercard are facing regulatory concerns which have affected their stock prices. In March, these two companies agreed to pay $30 billion to settle claims related to credit card fees. The ongoing scrutiny by regulators in Europe and other countries have also impacted Visa and Mastercard negatively.

Despite the challenges faced by Visa and Mastercard due to regulatory issues, American Express has not been affected by these regulations as much. Particularly, American Express has increased revenue due to the current high-interest rate environment.

In conclusion, American Express, Visa, and Mastercard are all strong companies in their own right, with Visa and Mastercard being high-margin firms with solid financial performance. Despite regulatory challenges, American Express remains a strong contender in the market.