American Express Reports Strong Q1 Earnings Amid Market Weakness
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 19 2026
0mins
Source: Fool
American Express Co's stock fell 5.00% as it hit a 5-day low, reflecting broader market trends with the Nasdaq-100 down 0.61% and the S&P 500 down 0.57%.
Despite the stock's decline, American Express reported a Q1 earnings per share of $4.28, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.02, driven by a 17.6% increase from the previous year. The company's revenue grew 10% to $18.9 billion, indicating strong performance among affluent customers, even as it set aside $1.3 billion for credit loss provisions amid economic pressures.
The strong earnings report highlights American Express's resilience in a challenging economic environment, attracting younger customers and maintaining growth in billed business, which rose 9%. This performance may help the company navigate current market uncertainties.
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Analyst Views on AXP
Wall Street analysts forecast AXP stock price to rise
21 Analyst Rating
8 Buy
12 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 340.540
Low
280.00
Averages
379.06
High
425.00
Current: 340.540
Low
280.00
Averages
379.06
High
425.00
About AXP
American Express Company is a globally integrated payments company with card-issuing, merchant-acquiring and card network businesses. It offers products and services to a range of customers, including consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies and large corporations around the world. Its segments include U.S. Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS) and Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS). USCS offers travel and lifestyle services as well as banking and non-card financing products. CS offers payment and expense management, banking and non-card financing products. ICS provides services to international customers, including travel and lifestyle services, and manages certain international joint ventures and its loyalty coalition business. GMNS operates a payments network that processes and settles card transactions, acquires merchants and provides multichannel marketing programs and capabilities, services and data analytics.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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