Apple (AAPL) Bulls Are Charging Again, While Schlumberger, Starbucks and American Express Are Making Earnings Moves of their Own

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is set for some major changes after a poor string of quarterly reports and a bleak outlook for the current year. For the fourth quarter, the financial numbers were as follows: revenue of $8.39 billion, down by 7.6% year-over-year, and earnings of $0.89 per share, down from $1.39 a share a year earlier. Analysts, in turn, were expecting $8.34 billion in revenue and a profit of $1.12 per share. The management of American Express admits it’s time to take some measures and has pledged to cut costs by $1 billion by the end of 2017. Those promises have failed to assuage investors however, as shares have dropped by over 12% today.

At the end of September, roughly 22% of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)’s common stock was held by 52 elite funds in our database, down from 57 a quarter before. The company has a notorious backer and strong ally in the person of Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway continues to hold more than 151 million American Express shares, which account for nearly 9% of its public equity portfolio.

Disclosure: None