AmEx’s revenue miss eclipses strong annual profit forecast

By Niket Nishant

(Reuters) -American Express’s second-quarter revenue jumped 9% to a record $16.33 billion on the back of robust spending from its wealthy customers but still fell short of expectations, sending shares of the credit card giant down 4.4%.

Known for its affluent cardholders, the company has been somewhat insulated from weakness in the economy, even as rival lenders warn of tepid loan demand at a time when borrowing costs are at their highest since the global financial crisis.

But a slowdown in spending growth compared to the prior quarter worried some investors, especially as data shows that wage growth has begun to lose some steam, possibly impacting discretionary spending.

Billed business, a measure of spending on AmEx cards, rose 6% from last year in the second quarter. It had expanded 7% in the first quarter.

Still, the company raised its 2024 earnings per share forecast to between $13.30 and $13.80, versus the $12.65 to $13.15 range it expected earlier.

“We remain confident in management’s ability to mitigate softer top line with expense control and achieve the EPS target,” said Citigroup analyst Keith Horowitz.

The revenue miss, however, could lead to some weakness in the stock, he said.

AmEx also said it would boost its marketing by 15% this year versus 2023, but not because it was anticipating a slowdown in spending, CEO Stephen Squeri said.

“You want to gain more traction with new cardholders and you want to gain more share,” he said.

Profit was $3.02 billion, or $4.15 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 39% higher than a year ago. Excluding a one-time gain, it earned $3.49 per share, higher than analysts’ estimate of $3.24 per share, according to LSEG data.

Its quarterly revenue of $16.33 billion was below the LSEG estimate of $16.59 billion.