American Express Company

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Form 10-K ☑ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 OR ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission File No. 1-7657 American Express Company (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) New York 13-4922250 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 200 Vesey Street New York, New York 10285 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 640-2000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common Shares (par value $0.20 per Share) AXP New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No o Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No þ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes þ No o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer þ Accelerated filer o Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No þ As of June 30, 2020, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting shares held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $76.6 billion based on the closing sale price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange. As of February 3, 2021, there were 805,588,980 common shares of the registrant outstanding. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Part III: Portions of Registrant’s Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 4, 2021. Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Form 10-K Item Number Page PART I 1. Business 1 Competition 9 Supervision and Regulation 11 Additional Information 22 1A. Risk Factors 23 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 38 2. Properties 38 3. Legal Proceedings 38 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 38 PART II 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 39 6. Selected Financial Data 41 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) 42 Executive Overview 42 Consolidated Results of Operations 45 Business Segment Results of Operations 53 Consolidated Capital Resources and Liquidity 62 Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations 70 Risk Management 72 Critical Accounting Estimates 80 Other Matters 84 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 90 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 90 Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 90 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 91 Index to Consolidated Financial Statements 94 Consolidated Financial Statements 95 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 100 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 159 9A. Controls and Procedures 159 9B. Other Information 159 Table of Contents PART III 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 160 11. Executive Compensation 160 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 160 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 160 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 161 PART IV 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules 162 16. Form 10-K Summary 168 Signatures 169 Statistical Disclosure by Bank Holding Companies A-1 This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains forward- looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. You can identify forward- looking statements by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “aim,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “likely,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar expressions. We discuss certain factors that affect our business and operations and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements under “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements. This report includes trademarks, such as American Express®, which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of American Express Company or its subsidiaries. This report also contains trademarks, service marks, copyrights and trade names of other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, our trademarks and trade names referred to in this report may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. Throughout this report the terms “American Express,” “we,” “our” or “us,” refer to American Express Company and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, unless stated or the context implies otherwise. The use of the term “partner” or “partnering” in this report does not mean or imply a formal legal partnership, and is not meant in any way to alter the terms of American Express’ relationship with any third parties. Refer to the “MD&A ― Glossary of Selected Terminology” for the definitions of other key terms used in this report. Table of Contents PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS Overview American Express is a globally integrated payments company that provides our customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. We are a leader in providing credit and charge cards to consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies and large corporations around the world. American Express® cards issued by American Express as well as by third-party banks and other institutions on the American Express network permit Card Members to charge purchases of goods and services at the millions of merchants around the world that accept cards bearing our logo. Our various products and services are sold globally to diverse customer groups through various channels, including mobile and online applications, affiliate marketing, customer referral programs, third-party vendors and business partners, direct mail, telephone, in-house sales teams and direct response advertising. Business travel-related services are offered through our non-consolidated joint venture, American Express Global Business Travel (the GBT JV). We were founded in 1850 as a joint stock association and were incorporated in 1965 as a New York corporation. American Express Company and its principal operating subsidiary, American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (TRS), are bank holding companies under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the BHC Act), subject to supervision and examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Federal Reserve). We principally engage in businesses comprising three reportable operating segments: Global Consumer Services Group (GCSG), Global Commercial Services (GCS) and Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS). Corporate functions and certain other businesses are included in Corporate &

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