American Express's short-term stock results have been "disappointing," as the company faces a variety of issues including the loss of its biggest retail partner, Chief executive officer Ken Chenault said.

“The share performance has not been at the level we want,” Mr Chenault said on Monday during the New York-based company’s annual shareholder meeting. AmEx, the biggest card-issuer by purchases, declined 14 per cent this year to $79.69 in New York in early trading.

The shares hit a high of $96.24 in July. American Express has slid the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average since December 31st after setbacks including the end of the company's partnership with warehouse-club chain Costco and a ruling by a federal judge that its policies prohibiting merchants from steering customers to cheaper cards violated antitrust laws.

Mr Chenault said on Monday that AmEx is dealing with the company's setbacks "head-on," and that he thinks the company will prevail in its appeal of the court's ruling. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is the largest investor in AmEx.

Shareholders approved the firm’s slate of directors and its executive compensation proposal in a preliminary vote at the annual meeting.

– Bloomberg