The American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), is a global financial services institution whose main offerings are charge and credit cards. American Express earns about half of its revenue from merchants, charging them a discount rate for each transaction processed. The other major source of revenue is cardholders themselves, who pay annual fees and interest charges on balances. During 2010, American Express posted a net income of $4.1 billion from its total revenues of $27.8 billion.^[1]

American Express announced that it would revive its share repurchase plan.^[2] The announcement came after obtaining approval from the Federal Reserve after American Express passed stress tests. American Express did not announce how many shares or how quickly it would repurchase shares. However, despite the positive news for investors, American Express also announced that its legal liabilities would exceed the amount it had set aside already, with up to $500 million in additional legal costs.^[3]

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