What is an income statement waterfall?

An income statement waterfall is a bar chart that walks from total revenue down to net income, with each step showing how much a cost or tax line removes (or adds). Subtotals — gross profit, operating income, pre-tax income — are anchored to zero so the cascade reconciles exactly to the bottom line.

How much of American Express (AXP) revenue becomes net income?

For TTM through Q1 2026, American Express turned $82.41B of revenue into $11.22B of net income — a net margin of 13.6%. The waterfall shows where the rest goes: cost of revenue, operating expenses, non-operating items, and taxes.

What are American Express (AXP) gross, operating, and net margins?

For TTM through Q1 2026, American Express reported a gross margin of 83.5%, an operating margin of 20.7%, and a net margin of 13.6%. Each subtotal in the waterfall corresponds to one of these margins.

Why does American Express (AXP) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

Gross margin (gross profit ÷ revenue) reflects how much of each revenue dollar remains after direct production costs. Capital-light software and platform businesses often show gross margins above 60–80% because their cost of revenue is mainly hosting and support. Hardware, retail, and commodity businesses show lower gross margins because raw materials and manufacturing costs are significant. The waterfall makes this visible at a glance — the size of the "Cost of Revenue" bar relative to Revenue is the gross margin complement.

What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Gross margin = (Revenue − Cost of Revenue) ÷ Revenue. It measures production efficiency. Operating margin = Operating Income ÷ Revenue. It adds operating expenses (R&D, S&M, G&A) and measures the profitability of core operations. Net margin = Net Income ÷ Revenue. It also includes interest, other income/expense, and taxes, and represents the shareholder take after everything.

American Express (AXP) Income Statement Waterfall

Revenue

$82.41B

Gross Margin

+83.5%

Operating Margin

+20.7%

Net Margin

+13.6%

Income statement waterfall for American Express (AXP) — TTM through Q1 2026

Net income: $11.22B

Margin breakdown for American Express (AXP) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Revenue	$82.41B	$82.41B
Cost of Revenue	−$13.60B	$68.81B
Gross Profit	$68.81B	$68.81B
Operating Expenses	−$51.75B	$17.06B
Operating Income	$17.06B	$17.06B
Other Income / Expense	−$2.82B	$14.24B
Pre-tax Income	$14.24B	$14.24B
Income Tax	−$3.02B	$11.22B
Net Income	$11.22B	$11.22B

Revenue$82.41B
Cost of Revenue−$13.60B
Gross Profit$68.81B
Operating Expenses−$51.75B
Operating Income$17.06B
Other Income / Expense−$2.82B
Pre-tax Income$14.24B
Income Tax−$3.02B
Net Income$11.22B

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Income statement waterfall for American Express (AXP) — TTM through Q1 2026

Margin breakdown for American Express (AXP) — TTM through Q1 2026

Frequently asked questions

+What is an income statement waterfall?

+How much of American Express (AXP) revenue becomes net income?

+What are American Express (AXP) gross, operating, and net margins?

+Why does American Express (AXP) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

+What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Data & methodology

+What is this view?

+How to read this waterfall

+How is the data calculated?

+What is the USD toggle?

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