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STOCK COMPARISON

American Express vs Royal Bank of Canada: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how American Express (AXP) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY) compare, as of Oct 30, 2026.

As of Oct 30, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees American Express as the less overvalued of the two: American Express trades at $319 versus a fair value of $210 (−34.2%), while Royal Bank of Canada trades at $203 versus $133 (−34.6%).
American Express
AXP · USD · Financials
−34.2%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$319
Fair Value$210
Quality69/100
Fair ValueQualityUptrend
Royal Bank of Canada
RY · USD · Financials
−34.6%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$203
Fair Value$133
Quality65/100
Fair ValueQualityUptrend
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Head-to-head numbers

Green is the better side of a row, red the weaker one (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper). Grey rows are for reference only and are not scored.

betterweakerfor reference, not scored

American ExpressRoyal Bank of Canada
Valuation
18.2×P/E (TTM)18.0×
15.8×Forward P/E (FY2027)11.3×
16.3×Median P/E at FY-end (10 FY, ex one-offs where documented)n/a
3.01×P/S (TTM)4.19×
6.56×P/B2.02×
14.7×EV/EBITDA19.1×
1.27×PEG2.26×
−34.2%Fair value upside−34.6%
1.1%Dividend yield3.2%
$3.67Dividend per share$6.58
Profitability
18.4%Operating margin46.4%
1.53×EBIT margin trend (5Y)0.80×
35.9%Return on equity16.2%
3.6%Return on assets0.9%
Growth
11.3%Revenue growth (YoY)8.9%
13.1%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)27.1%
16.0%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)17.6%
+10.1%Value creation/yr+13.3%
Balance & size
1.7×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)0.4×
1.69×Debt / equity2.54×
$219BMarket cap$281B
healthyGrowth qualityhealthy
American Express, median P/E at fiscal year-end, 10 fiscal years (2016 to 2025), reported earnings, 5 of the years ex one-offs: 16.3.
Forward P/E: price divided by the analyst consensus for the first fiscal year that has not started yet. The current year carries special items from quarters already reported.

American Express leads: 8 to 7 metric wins.

n/a = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

American Express Royal Bank of Canada
ProfitabilityHow much profit the company makes from its sales and capital
49
30
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns getting better?
50
62
CashflowDo the profits arrive as real cash?
82
100
Financial strengthDebt, balance sheet and risk of trouble
53
13
InvestmentDoes it invest with discipline instead of growing at any price?
65
74
Low VolatilityHow calm the share price moves, does not count
65
83
MomentumPrice trend of the last 3 to 12 months, does not count
31
58
Near the 52-week highDistance to the 52-week high, does not count
27
80
New sharesBuys back shares or issues new ones?
100
100

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyAmerican ExpressPrice $319Royal Bank of CanadaPrice $203
DCF Models+14.3%close to the price$365n/a
Earnings-Based−27.9%below the price$230n/a
Dividend Discount−81.5%below the price$59.10−40.4%below the price$121
Multiples−57.8%below the price$135−24.9%below the price$152
Asset-Based−91.1%below the price$28.49−73.2%below the price$54.34
Growth DCF+43.1%above the price$457n/a
Economic Profit−63.2%below the price$117−35.2%below the price$131
Matching families4 of 7
Minimum−91.1%below the price$28.49−73.2%below the price$54.34
Maximum−57.8%below the price$135−24.9%below the price$152
Median−72.3%below the price$88.27−37.8%below the price$126
Geometric mean−77.5%below the price$71.85−47.2%below the price$107
Ahead family by family0 of 44 of 4

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean only use the families both stocks have (matching families: 4 of 7), so a family without a value on one side does not distort the comparison. Ahead in a family is the stock whose fair value there sits higher relative to its price. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

Family by family: Royal Bank of Canada is ahead in 4 of 4 shared families, American Express in none.

American Express: 8 of 13 models see the stock below the current price.

Royal Bank of Canada: 6 of 6 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear scenario to the optimistic bull scenario. The white tick is the current price (value above it), the green tick the fair value (value below it): if the price sits left of the fair value, there is room to rise.

American Express
Price $319
Fair Value $210
Bear $158Bull $263
Royal Bank of Canada
Price $203
Fair Value $133
Bear $102Bull $190

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

American Express · Financials

Quality score69 · Top 25%
Fair value upside−34.2% · bottom 25%

Royal Bank of Canada · Financials

Quality score65 · Top 25%
Fair value upside−34.6% · bottom 25%

Bottom line

As of Oct 30, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees American Express as the less overvalued of the two: American Express trades at $319 versus a fair value of $210 (−34.2%), while Royal Bank of Canada trades at $203 versus $133 (−34.6%).

American Express has the higher quality score (69/100).

Open American Express live analysis →

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.