American Express Reports Third-Quarter Earnings Per Share of $3.49, and Raises Full-Year 2024 EPS Guidance
American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) today reported third-quarter net income of $2.51 billion, or $3.49 per share, compared with net income of $2.45 billion, or $3.30 per share, a year ago.
“We had another strong quarter that reflects the earnings power of our business model and our continued investments for growth. Third-quarter revenue reached another record of $16.6 billion, up 8 percent, and earnings per share of $3.49 was up 6 percent, year-over-year,” said Stephen J. Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“Based on our performance to date and the strong earnings our core business is generating, we are raising our full-year EPS guidance to $13.75 – $14.05, up from $13.30 – $13.80 previously. We continue to expect full-year revenue growth that is within the annual guidance range we provided in the beginning of the year, at around 9 percent.
“In the third quarter, total Card Member spending increased 6 percent, and card fee revenue growth accelerated to 18 percent. We continued to attract large numbers of new premium Card Members with 3.3 million new card acquisitions, while maintaining our high retention rates, excellent credit performance, and expense discipline.
“Our continued momentum demonstrates the sustainability of our product refresh strategy and the growth it is driving in our portfolio. We have already completed 40 product refreshes globally since the beginning of the year, including the recent launch of our new U.S. Consumer Gold Card. The new benefits and capabilities we have added in popular categories like dining are fueling our growth with Millennial and Gen-Z consumers, who represent 80 percent of the new accounts acquired on the U.S. Consumer Gold Card, and remain our fastest growing consumer cohort overall in the U.S. The strong early results we’re seeing from our product refreshes reinforce my confidence that we’re investing in the right areas to enhance our value propositions and meet the financial and lifestyle needs of our customers.”
Third-quarter consolidated total revenues net of interest expense were $16.6 billion, up 8 percent from $15.4 billion a year ago. The increase was primarily driven by higher net interest income supported by growth in loan volumes, stable growth in Card Member spending, and accelerated card fee revenue growth.
Consolidated provisions for credit losses were $1.4 billion, compared with $1.2 billion a year ago. The increase reflected higher net write-offs driven by growth in loan balances, partially offset by a lower net reserve build year-over-year. The third-quarter net write-off rate was 1.9 percent, compared to 1.8 percent a year ago, and down from 2.1 percent in the prior quarter.4
Consolidated expenses were $12.1 billion, up 9 percent from $11.0 billion a year ago. The increase primarily reflected higher variable customer engagement costs driven by higher Card Member spending and usage of travel-related benefits, as well as increased marketing investments and operating expenses.
The consolidated effective tax rate was 21.8 percent, up from 20.9 percent a year ago, primarily reflecting discrete tax benefits in the prior-year period.