Business
American Express benefits from financially strong customers
At the beginning of the year, American Express continued to benefit significantly from its financially strong customers.
American Express Kicks Off the New Fiscal Year Strongly, Once Again Benefiting from the Purchasing Power of Its Customers
The company reported an 11 percent increase in revenue to 15.8 billion US dollars (14.8 billion euros) compared to the same period last year. Net income grew by about a third to 2.4 billion dollars. These figures met analysts' expectations.
An important growth driver, in addition to the consumptive credit card holders, was the higher net interest income. In the first quarter, American Express also set aside more money for potential loan defaults, amounting to 1.3 billion dollars compared to the previous year.
Compared to the previous year, cardholders' spending increased by seven percent after currency adjustments, and even by eight percent in the USA. The company announced that 3.4 million new credit cards were issued in the first quarter. Unlike other credit card providers such as Visa and MasterCard, American Express also directly extends credit.
American Express also confirmed its forecast for the full year. The company expects revenue to grow by 9 to 11 percent and earnings per share to be between $12.65 and $13.15. In the first quarter, earnings per share reached $3.33.
During trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the share price of American Express temporarily increased by 4.2 percent and was quoted at 226.73 US dollars.
