The Wide Angle — Some Short Stories
After the market closed, American Express (AXP: $48.92; Market Value: $ 57B) announced expectations of slower spending and more late payments based on the payment patterns exhibited by its 85 million card members in the month of December. Reserves of $440 million are planned, shaving EPS estimates from the $4 per share most expect. We sensed a short-sale story. Market value is almost 2-times Revenues. Discover (DFS: $14.26; MV: $6.8 B), with annual revenues of $4 billion, had a market value-to-rev ratio of 1.7…emboldening our short-sale thesis. Then, we checked out Mastercard (MA: $195.99; MV: $26B), and this is where…