American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is one of the best stocks to buy according to billionaire Mario Gabelli.
American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is the sixth-largest 13F holding for GAMCO Investors, with $156 million invested, giving it a 1.5% weight in the portfolio. GAMCO holds 422,221 shares as of Q4 2025, down around 6% from Q3 2025.
As of December 31, 2025, Gabelli Funds have held AXP stock for 33 years, among the longest held stocks. During this period, it generated aggregate realized and unrealized gains of $456 million.
The stock’s cumulative total return since Gabelli’s first-ever purchase is a whopping 9,991%, implying an annualized return of 15.0% during that period.
Pixabay/Public Domain
That said, recent performance has been contrasting; the stock has declined nearly 18% so far in 2026, after a 25% return in 2025. Part of the recent decline could be attributed to fears that artificial intelligence disruption would hurt the financial sector, particularly after a report from Citrini Research that presented highly bearish scenarios for its impact.
However, a number of analysts didn’t agree with the report’s analysis. A Wells Fargo analyst said that the selloff after the report “represents a unique opportunity” to buy the stock, which was trading at an attractive valuation. He also argued that it is “rational to worry about white-collar job losses from AI, but not to the scale that bears seem to highlight today.”
In its Q4 2025 shareholder commentary, GAMCO Investors kept American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the same bucket as Bank of New York Mellon and said that these financial holdings are benefiting from “A steeper interest rate curve, the return of deal-making, a strong stock market, and solid spending among more affluent consumers.”
The company has also seen several insider sales in the last few weeks. Raymond Joabar, American Express’s Group President of Global Commercial Services, sold 14,000 shares on February 19, 2026, in multiple transactions at weighted average prices between about $338.98 and $341.95. That sale totalled roughly $4.8 million of stock, and cut his directly held stake by 62%.
Moreover, Ravikumar Radhakrishnan, American Express’s Chief Information Officer, sold 15,000 shares on February 9, 2026, totalling about $5.35 million. This also reduced his shareholding by about 62%. On the same day, Chief Legal Officer Laureen Seeger also sold 12,737 shares for total proceeds of about $4.60 million.
American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is a global financial services corporation known for its credit card, charge card, and payment processing services.
While we acknowledge the risk and potential of AXP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AXP and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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