Ramsey's Blacklist Yields Surprising Stock Winners Amid Warning

Dave Ramsey recently shared his blacklist of financial companies he personally refuses to do business with on an episode of The Dave Ramsey Show. Two of the companies, American Express and SunTrust Financial's successor Truist Financial, have seen significant stock growth over the past decade, despite Ramsey's warnings.

American Express shares are up 471% in ten years and about 113% in five years, recently trading near $324. Meanwhile, Fifth Third Bancorp has returned roughly 274% over ten years. The companies' success is largely due to their ability to finance consumer credit, which Ramsey warns borrowers away from.

The key factor that decides whether rewards are 'hogwash' or free money is whether the statement balance hits zero every month, according to Ramsey. If a cardholder carries a balance and earns rewards, they may be losing money in interest payments while the issuer profits from the spread.