Kickstarting your investment journey can be both exciting and scary at the same time, and if you're new to investing, you may not know where to even begin. However, one thing is for certain -- stocks set to beat the market over the next 12 months serve as the perfect foundation for any kind of investor.

Now, let's break down why adding this one exceptional stock, highlighted below, to your portfolio could be a recipe for success.

Why You Should Pay Attention to American Express (AXP)

Founded in 1850, NY-based American Express Company is a diversified financial services company, offering charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. American Express and its main subsidiary – American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (“TRS”) – are bank holding companies under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. The company offers business travel-related services through its non-consolidated joint venture, American Express Global Business Travel (the GBT JV).

Since being added to the Zacks Focus List on December 23, 2021 at $162.47 per share, shares of AXP have increased 94.97% to $316.77.

For fiscal 2025, 10 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.17 to $15.33. AXP boasts an average earnings surprise of 6.9%.

Moreover, analysts are expecting American Express' earnings to grow 14.8% for the current fiscal year.

Since stock prices respond to earnings estimate revisions, it can be very profitable to buy stocks with an increased earnings outlook. By buying a Focus List stock like AXP, then, you're likely getting into a company whose future earnings estimates will be raised, potentially leading to price momentum.

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