American Express Reports Strong Q2 Profit Amid Robust Spending, EPS +44%, Revenue Miss

Jul 19, 2024, 11:46 AM

American Express reported a strong second-quarter profit, beating estimates due to robust spending by affluent customers on travel, dining, and entertainment. Despite this, the company missed revenue expectations, leading to a slight decline in its stock price. CEO Steve Squeri highlighted that since the end of 2021, American Express has significantly grown its business, increasing revenues by nearly 50% and card member spending by almost 40%, while adding around 23 million new cards and over 30 million merchant locations. The company is guiding for 9-11% revenue growth in 2024, but there are concerns about meeting this guidance in the current economic environment. Additionally, American Express has lifted its profit forecast for 2024 and expects marketing expenses to be about 15% higher than in 2023. The company's EPS increased by 44%, ROE reached 41.4%, NII rose by 20%, and pre-tax income grew by 39%.