It's been a tough year for American Express (NYSE: AXP) investors. While the S 500 has gained more than 8% since the end of 2022, shares of the credit card company are up an anemic 2.3% thanks to a sizable sell-off from February's peak. The market's worried about the condition of the economy, which naturally impacts card-based spending.

Just don't come to any sweeping, long-term conclusions about American Express based on the stock's short-term performance. In fact, its shares' recent weakness is a great buying opportunity. This company is not just built to last. It's built to thrive.

With nothing more than a passing glance, AmEx looks a lot like any other credit card middleman, such as or Mastercard. And in many regards, it is. It facilitates consumer purchases from merchants and handles all the money/billing matters behind the scenes. The whole charge-card-versus-credit card debate doesn't make much difference these days in terms of acceptance by merchants.

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Source Fool.com