AmEx profit beats expectations as card spending holds up

By Arasu Kannagi Basil and Niket Nishant

(Reuters) - American Express beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday, as its affluent customers shrugged off fears of a slowdown to continue spending on travel and entertainment.

The credit card giant also stuck to its profit and revenue forecast for 2025, at a time when several businesses have withdrawn guidance citing the uncertainty surrounding the new U.S. administration's trade policies.

AmEx sees revenue growing at an 8% to 10% range in 2025, while profit is expected to be between $15 and $15.50 per share.

The company, however, noted the forecast was "subject to the macroeconomic environment". Though such caveats are standard, it was explicitly included this time because of "less visibility" into the economic trajectory, CFO Christophe Le Caillec told Reuters.

AmEx's longstanding focus on affluent customers has often insulated it from broader economic weakness. For years, it has used rewards and exclusive perks as a strategy to attract high-spending customers.

"A lot of the buyside was worried that this (forecast) would need to come down amidst softening consumer spend and travel," analysts at Truist Securities wrote in a note.

Profit rose 6% to $2.58 billion, or $3.64 per share, for the three months ended March 31. Analysts had expected it to earn $3.46 apiece, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

Restaurant and lodging spending remained strong in the quarter although airline billings growth slowed relative to 2024 trends.

Spending trends through the first week and a half of April have remained consistent with the first quarter, Le Caillec told analysts.

Revenue rose 8% to $16.97 billion in the quarter, slightly above expectations. Provisions for credit losses fell to $1.2 billion from $1.3 billion a year earlier.

AmEx also saw a "very modest" increase in spending by small business owners and wholesale merchants, who were building their inventory by pre-purchasing goods that could get expensive because of the tariffs, the CFO said.

Shares fell marginally in early trading. They have dropped 8% since the tariffs were announced on April 2, which Trump has touted as "Liberation Day".

AmEx shares trade at 16.6 times 2025 earnings per share estimate, a discounted multiple compared with the S&P 500 index, analysts at William Blair wrote in a note.

"We believe this discount is unwarranted, as American Express has posted faster revenue and earnings growth than the market," they said.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Pooja Desai)