American Express (AXP) -) beat Wall Street's third-quarter earnings estimates, boosted by strong card member spending as well as travel and entertainment.
The financial services giant reported earnings of $2.45 billion, or $3.30 per share, up from $1.88 billion or $2.47 per share a year earlier. On average, analysts had expected a profit of $2.94 per share, according to LSEG IBES data.
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In July, American Express posted record revenue of $15.1 billion for the second quarter, up 12% year-over-year, marking five successive quarters of record revenues. The company also said that cardmember spending hit a quarterly high.
Net income came to $2.2 billion, or $2.89 per share, up 12% from the year-ago period. Total network volume rose 8% year-over-year to $426.6 billion.
"Travel and Entertainment spending remained robust, increasing 13 percent on an FX-adjusted basis," CEO Stephen Squeri said in a statement. "Restaurant spending was again one of our fastest-growing T&E categories, and our Resy restaurant platform continued to generate high levels of user engagement, marking another quarter of record reservations."
Despite the good news, AmEx boosted its provisions for credit losses to $1.23 billion, up 58% from last year, amid concerns about a slowing economy and rising oil prices due to the Israel-Hamas war.
American Express partners with Delta Air Lines (DAL) -) to offer the Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business cards.
Delta recently walked back some major changes that included cutting Sky Club lounge access benefits from American Express cards.
“I have read hundreds of your emails, and what's been most clear to me is how much you love Delta and the disappointment many of you felt by the significance of the changes,” CEO Ed Bastian said in an Oct. 18 email sent to SkyClub members.
