(SeaPRwire) – Good morning. Stephen Squeri has been the CEO of American Express for eight years, following a career spanning over four decades entirely within the company.
In a new feature, my colleague Shawn Tully offers a comprehensive and engaging profile of Squeri. An outsider from Queens who was once told he would never become CEO, he helped restore Amex’s cachet partly by wagering that younger consumers would not hesitate to pay $900 annually for a premium card. The returns he has delivered for shareholders now exceed those of JPMorgan, Visa, and the S&P 500.
Tully writes: “Squeri has created one of the premier growth engines in financial services by attracting luxury seekers like never before, aggressively focusing on exclusivity and youth. The triumph of his highly innovative, contrarian strategy is remarkable. Despite leading the eighth-largest U.S. financial services firm by market value ($200 billion)—a legendary institution that is Warren Buffett’s second-largest holding at Berkshire Hathaway after Apple—the Amex CEO remains relatively unknown to the public and maintains a much quieter profile than figures such as JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon or Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon.”
Since Squeri took the helm in early 2018, American Express has delivered the best returns among the largest U.S. commercial banks and payment processors. Over that period, its stock has achieved total annual returns of 16.6%, according to Tully’s report.
Squeri shifted Amex from the traditional industry approach of acquiring customers with no-fee or low-fee cards and later moving them to premium offerings. He identified an opportunity with wealthy younger customers who were ready to pay high annual fees upfront for premium cards, provided the perks and rewards were sufficiently attractive.
For further details on Squeri’s successful strategy and his path to the leadership role, you can read the full article here.
On April 23, American Express announced robust Q1 2026 results, with earnings per share of $4.28. This surpassed estimates of $4.03, representing a positive surprise of 6.2%. The firm also declared a raised quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, payable on May 8. Consistent with Squeri’s focus, younger demographic groups drove year-over-year spending increases: Gen Z spending jumped 38%, millennials’ grew 13%, Gen X rose 8%, and baby boomers increased 4%.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@.com
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