American Express Profit Edges Up on Higher Card Member Spending

By Daniel Huang And Tess Stynes 

American Express Co.'s first-quarter earnings rose amid higher card member spending, though foreign-currency impacts dented revenue.

The results came after a quarter filled with setbacks, the most notable of which were the end of the New York credit-card firm's partnership with Costco Wholesale Corp. and the loss of an antitrust lawsuit.

American Express reported a profit of $1.53 billion, or $1.48 a share, compared with $1.43 billion, or $1.33 a share, a year earlier. Revenue, net of interest expense, was $7.95 billion, down from $8.17 billion a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $1.37 a share on $8.2 billion in revenue.

Struggling in recent months to keep up with its longtime revenue-growth target of 8%, the company had focused instead on cost-cutting, including announcing in January the elimination of 4,000 jobs throughout the year.

Write to Daniel Huang at [e-mail] and Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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