American Express Co. saw net write-offs increase in the latest quarter relative to a year before, but the company on Friday still came in ahead of Wall Street expectations with its financial forecasts for 2024.
Total revenue net of interest expense came in at $15.8 billion, up 11% from the $14.2 billion that Amex
AXP,
reported a year prior. Analysts had been looking for $16.0 billion.
Amex’s billed business was up 6% to $379.8 billion. “We continued to drive strong customer engagement, and demand for our premium products remained robust,” Chief Executive Stephen Squeri said in a release.
The company generated net income of $1.9 billion, or $2.62 a share, compared with $1.6 billion, or $2.07 a share, in the year-prior period. Analysts had been modeling $2.64 a share.
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Amex’s total provisions for credit losses increased to $1.4 billion from $1.0 billion. The company said it had higher net write-offs, though this was partially offset by a lower net reserve build of $400 million that compares with $492 million from a year before.
For the full year, Amex models 9% to 11% revenue growth, as well as earnings per share of $12.65 to $13.15. The FactSet consensus was for $66.3 billion in revenue, which implied expectations for about 9% growth, along with $12.38 in EPS.
“Looking ahead, we continue to run the business with a focus on our aspiration of revenue growth of [10%-plus] and mid-teens EPS growth,” Squeri said in the release.
Amex disclosed a planned dividend increase of 17%. The company’s quarterly dividend will be going up to 70 cents a share from 60 cents a share, starting with the first-quarter dividend declaration.
