How American Express Company Makes Most of Its Money

Credit card giant American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) is unique in the sense that it makes money from both the credit card side of the business, which includes things like interest income and annual card fees, as well as from the payment processing side. Here's a breakdown of where American Express' revenue comes from.

All of American Express' revenue can be broken down into two main categories -- interest income and non-interest income. Interest income basically includes the APR charged to credit card customers on balances they carry on American Express cards, while non-interest income includes things like payment processing (swipe) fees and annual fees charged to cardholders, as well as other fees and commissions.

Image source: Getty Images. (Note: Image does not necessarily depict an American Express product.)

Source: Fool.com