AmEx’s third-quarter profit tops estimates on robust spending By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The brand of Dow Jones Industrial Common inventory market index listed firm American Specific (AXP) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Picture

By Niket Nishant and Jaiveer Shekhawat

(Reuters) -Bank card big American Specific (NYSE:) on Friday reported third-quarter revenue that beat expectations, helped by resilient spending from its rich prospects who shrugged off issues about an financial downturn.

AmEx, which caters to a premium buyer base, has largely been in a position to mitigate the hit from inflation and the Federal Reserve’s charge hikes, which have made borrowing pricey and reined in discretionary spending.

“It seems that the agency’s comparatively prosperous cardholder base is offering it with a degree of credit score safety not shared by lots of its friends,” Morningstar analyst Michael Miller mentioned.

“The sequential resiliency of American Specific’s credit score metrics is a noticeable distinction to different shopper lenders, who did see continued deterioration throughout the quarter.”

AmEx’s provisions for credit score losses – the sum the corporate units apart to account for customers defaulting on their debt – of $1.23 billion climbed 58% from final yr, however had been up simply 3% from the second quarter.

“It’s a little bit of a business-as-usual quarter for us,” CFO Christophe Le Caillec mentioned. “We see lots of demand for our services coming from Gen Zs and Millennials. They’re additionally signing up for premium merchandise.”

The resumption of scholar mortgage repayments in October has not modified spending patterns up to now, the CFO mentioned.

AmEx reported a revenue of $3.30 per share, up from $2.47 per share a yr earlier. On common, analysts had anticipated a revenue of $2.94 per share, based on LSEG IBES knowledge.

It additionally mentioned its earnings per share and income for the complete yr could be in keeping with the prior forecast. The corporate has beforehand mentioned it expects to earn $11 to $11.40 per share in 2023.

Income, web of curiosity expense, surged 13%, to $15.38 billion. Consolidated bills climbed 7%, to $11 billion, pushed by increased customer-engagement prices.