American Express’ Q1 revenue starts strong with an 11% increase

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Updated on Sep 26, 2024

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The net income of the first quarter is $2.4 billion, or $3.33 per share.
Consolidated expenses were $11.4 billion, with an increase of 3%.
The consolidated effective tax rate rose to 22.5% from 16.2% in 2023.

American Express on April 19 reported an 11% increase to $15.8 billion in its FY24’s first-quarter revenue as compared with $14.3 billion in the previous year. The EPS also saw an increase of 39% to $3.33, reflecting a continued business momentum.

American Express’ net income

The net income of the first quarter is $2.4 billion, or $3.33 per share, compared with net income of $1.8 billion, or $2.40 per share in 2023.

Credit loss provisions

Credit loss provisions totalled $1.3 billion, compared with $1.1 billion a year ago. The increase can be attributed to higher net write-offs, partially offset by a reduced net reserve build of $148 million, compared with a net reserve build of $320 million in 2023.

Consolidated expenses and tax

Consolidated expenses were $11.4 billion, with an increase of 3% in comparison to $11.1 billion a year ago.

The consolidated effective tax rate rose to 22.5% from 16.2% in 2023.

The company expects a full-year revenue growth of 9% to 11% and EPS of $12.65 to $13.15.

American Express Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen J. Squeri says,

Our continued investments in our value propositions, marketing, brand and technology capabilities have helped drive high levels of engagement with our premium customers. Overall Card Member spending grew 7 percent on an FX-adjusted basis, with spending by U.S. consumer Card Members up 8 percent from a year earlier and spending in our International Card Services segment increasing 13 percent on an FX-adjusted basis.

We continue to attract high-spending, high credit-quality customers to the franchise, with new card acquisitions accelerating sequentially to 3.4 million in the quarter. Our fee-based products accounted for around 70 percent of the new account acquisitions we saw in the quarter, and we continue to see strong demand from Millennial and Gen Z consumers, who accounted for over 60 percent of new consumer account acquisitions globally. Our credit metrics remain best in class.