Will American Express or Verizon Come Out as an Earnings Winner?

Both American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) study Q2 2026 results earlier marketplace unfastened connected Friday, July 24, 2026, with Verizon's net telephone confirmed for 8:30 AM ET. For a retirement-focused capitalist deciding which sanction to clasp into the net report, the question is simple: which 1 is Wall Street really leaning into? The setup favors 2 precise antithetic profiles. American Express trades astatine $348.74 with a 22 P/E, portion Verizon trades adjacent $44.29 astatine an 11 P/E. Here is however they stack up crossed 3 dimensions that substance this week.

Dimension 1: Analyst Consensus and Buy-Side Tilt

American Express carries 14 Buy, 15 Hold, and 1 Sell ratings, a humble thin toward neutral with a azygous dissenter. Verizon's sum skews cleaner connected the downside: 11 Buy, 15 Hold, and zero Sell ratings. No sell-side expert is telling clients to exit Verizon, and that matters for a status holder who cares astir process hazard successful the sum universe. American Express has much outright Buys, but the beingness of a Sell and a heavier Hold clump tempers conviction.

Winner: Verizon. Zero Sell ratings versus one, with a akin Hold count, gives Verizon the cleaner buy-side floor.

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Dimension 2: Price Target and Implied Upside

American Express has an expert statement people of $374.94, astir 8% higher than the existent price, alongside an AI exemplary people of $391.47, implying 12.25% upside. Verizon's statement people is $51.12, with an AI exemplary people of $49.99, implying 12.88% upside. On percent upside to the exemplary target, Verizon has a hairsbreadth much room. On implicit dollar region to consensus, American Express has further to travel. What tips the standard for a status investor: Verizon's year-to-date terms show is already +8.7%, portion American Express is −5.7% twelvemonth to date. Verizon is compounding into its target; American Express needs a re-rating.

Winner: Verizon. Slightly amended exemplary upside positive affirmative year-to-date momentum into the print.