American Express (NYSE:AXP) reported first-quarter results on Thursday that exceeded Wall Street expectations, supported by strong card spending, rising balances, and solid fee income growth.
Shares of the payments company gained about 1% in premarket trading by 07:06 ET.
Strong spending and fee growth drive results
The company posted earnings per share of $4.28, surpassing analyst estimates of $4.00. Revenue reached $18.91 billion on an FX-adjusted basis, marking a 10% year-on-year increase and coming in above the consensus forecast of $18.61 billion.
American Express said the performance was largely driven by increased spending from Card Members, higher net interest income fueled by growing card balances, and robust growth in card-related fees.
“We had a very strong start to the year, reflecting continued momentum across our premium customer base and execution of our proven growth strategy,” said Stephen Squeri.
Outlook unchanged for 2026
The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 outlook, continuing to project revenue growth of 9% to 10% and earnings per share in the range of $17.30 to $17.90, compared with analyst expectations of $17.56.