American Express's Net Income Falls in 3Q

By Allison Prang

American Express Co.'s third-quarter profit missed earnings estimates, but its revenue net of interest expense came in higher than Wall Street anticipated.

Earnings for the quarter decreased to $1.1 billion, or $1.30 a share, the company reported Friday. Those were lower than the comparable quarter a year earlier when profit was $1.8 billion, or $2.08 a share. According to FactSet, analysts had been expecting $1.34 a share.

The credit-card company said revenue net of interest expense was $8.8 billion. Analysts had been expecting $8.66 billion. Revenue net of interest expense fell 20% from a year earlier, American Express said, attributing the drop to less card-member spending and a decline in the average discount rate.

American Express's provision for credit losses was $665 million, the company said. That declined from a year earlier when it was $879 million.

"Since the lows of mid-April, we have seen a steady recovery in our overall spending volumes," Chief Executive Stephen Squeri said in prepared remarks, adding that credit is still strong but that the company is still "cautious about the direction of the pandemic and its impacts on the economy."

Write to Allison Prang at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2020 07:15 ET (11:15 GMT)

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