Amex Beats Expectations, Stock Drops

0:00American Express just posted killer earnings this morning, beating Wall Street expectations across the board. Revenue hit $18.91 billion, up 11% from last year, while earnings per share came in at $4 and $0.28, a solid 18% jump. They stuck to their 2026 outlive too, projecting 9% to 10% sales growth and earnings per share between $17 and $0.30 to $17.90. Starting from their affluent card holders is still booming, especially on luxury goods of 18%, premium airline seats of 12%, and retail up 11%. Restaurants grew 9%, and even Delta CEO noted these high end spenders aren't phased by global tensions like the Iran situation. But here's the twist, despite the strong numbers, AMIC stock dropped over 4% Thursday. Investors seem spooked by retention worries and steady spending growth not translating to the pop they wanted. Looking deeper, their ecosystem upgrades are paying off big, with hotel bookings of

1:0250%, restaurants spending through resi of 20%, and AMIC's travel air fares of 21%. Annual fees jumped 18%, thanks to hikes like the platinum card now at $895 a year, and folks are sticking with them. That said, they're planning to ramp up marketing and tech spending to chase growth, and domestic card additions are slowing a bit. Still, with affluent wallets wide open, AMIC's looks prime to keep stacking wins into the long game. Durham News Today, powered by AI Bringing You What Matters, I'm Corey with The Story.