AXP vs MA: Correlation
American Express (AXP) and Mastercard (MA) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.55.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AXP and MA?
On 3 years of weekly data the AXP/MA correlation comes out at 0.55, moderate. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.47 over 1 year against 0.55 over 3. The 5-year figure is 0.63, and annualized covariance runs at 280.2 %².
By 3-year correlation, MA places #17 of the 35 assets tracked against AXP. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +4.7% for AXP and +0.8% for MA. The relationship is regime-dependent: the rolling one-year correlation swung between 0.21 and 0.76 over the past three years, so this pair behaves very differently depending on the market environment.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
AXP vs MA: side by side
| AXP (American Express) | MA (Mastercard) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +4.7% | +0.8% |
| 5-year return | +116.2% | +72.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 26.6% | 19.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.20 | 0.77 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -28.8% | -20.9% |
| Market cap | $225.7B | $518.4B |
| P/E (trailing) | 20.4 | 32.9 |
| Dividend yield | 1.05% | 0.56% |
| Sector / category | Financials | Financials |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AXP | MA |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -8.5% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | +28.7% | +23.4% |
| 2024 | +60.3% | +24.2% |
| 2025 | +26.0% | +9.0% |
| 2026 | -8.9% | +4.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AXP and MA good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.55 means AXP and MA share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
FAQ
What is the correlation between AXP and MA?
The AXP/MA correlation stands at 0.55 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.47, 5 years: 0.63), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is MA a good diversifier for AXP?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.55 means AXP and MA share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.55 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.55 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/axp-vs-ma.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/axp-vs-ma/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: AXP correlations · MA correlations
