Better Buy: Visa Inc. vs. American Express

There's a clear winner in terms of past performance, but which is the smarter pick looking ahead?

When it comes to the credit cards you use, it's likely that either Visa (NYSE:V) or American Express (NYSE:AXP) has a place in your wallet. Both American Express and Visa have played a vital role in the evolution of the payment-processing industry, taking the global economy away from cash-based transactions and working toward an increasingly electronic payment system. American Express has gone through some struggles lately that have led its stock to lag Visa, but investors want to know if that means that AmEx is now a bargain or if Visa is still a smarter play on the space. Let's take a look at Visa and American Express using some common metrics to see which looks like the better buy...


Source: The Motley Fool