American Express Co Earnings - Q3 2026 Analysis & Highlights
American Express reported strong Q3 2026 results, supported by premium customer spending, accelerating card-fee growth, and continued investment in its membership model, AI capabilities, and commercial offerings.
Key financial results
Revenue was $20.1 billion, up 9% year over year; growth would have been about one percentage point higher excluding small-business co-brand exits.
GAAP EPS was $5.42, up 31%; adjusted EPS was $4.68, up 13%, after excluding the Global Business Travel Group gain and restructuring charge.
Adjusted EPS included $0.51 per share of higher legal reserves, a $0.29 discrete tax benefit, and a $0.24 benefit from CECL model updates; together, these items had no meaningful net impact.
Net interest income grew 10%, while net card fees increased 17% FX-adjusted and remained the fastest-growing revenue line.
Balances grew 8%, NII grew 10%, and write-off dollars increased 3%; delinquency remained at 1.2%–1.3% for the 15th consecutive quarter.
Business segment results
U.S. consumer billed business increased 9.4%, which management described as the third-highest quarterly growth rate in three years; Platinum portfolio spend retention remained 99% one year after its refresh.
Commercial spend increased 3%, or 5% excluding co-brand portfolio exits, for the second consecutive quarter; management said small business and large/multinational customers performed well, while middle-market growth remained an area to improve.
International spend increased 11%, marking 22 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth.
Travel and entertainment spend rose 10%; airline spend grew 13% and restaurant spend grew 9%.
The call provided billed-business and growth commentary, but did not report revenue or profit figures for each business segment.
Capital allocation
American Express returned $2.2 billion to shareholders in Q3, comprising $1.6 billion of share repurchases and $0.6 billion of dividends.
The company ended the quarter with a 10.9% CET1 ratio, reflecting the Global Business Travel Group sale gain recorded at quarter-end.
Management said the Global Business Travel Group gain was used in part for restructuring and to support long-term growth; the restructuring charge was $336 million and is expected to eliminate approximately 5% of global positions.
The call did not provide specific capital-expenditure or debt-repayment plans.
Industry trends and dynamics
Management said customer behavior remained similar to the prior year, with consistent spend growth, balanced growth in line with spend, high retention, and strong credit performance.
Agentic transaction volumes were still small, but management said AI is changing how consumers and businesses discover, compare, decide, pay, and manage their finances.
The company reported that global merchant acceptance reached more than 190 million locations, up from 160 million a year earlier; locations accepting Amex outside the U.S. more than doubled over four years.
The call did not provide specific commentary on inflation, tariffs, recession, or a broader macroeconomic outlook. Management did, however, describe customer spending trends as strong and consistent.
Competitive landscape
Management characterized the premium-card market as highly competitive, naming Citi, Capital One, and Chase, while saying the environment had not changed materially and was expected to remain competitive.
The company said it competes through a broader membership proposition—including access, service, security, benefits, and rewards—rather than competing solely on points.
In commercial offerings, management identified Ramp and Brex as competitors, particularly in middle market, where expense-management automation and agents have become important.
American Express said it was shifting its network partnership focus away from larger banks toward smaller and mid-sized banks and specific entities, citing partnerships including Synchrony and Bread Financial.
Regarding the proposed Visa–Mastercard settlement, management said the effects on merchant behavior remained to be seen, and argued that differentiating among cards could prompt consumer backlash.
Growth opportunities and strategies
The company is using AI across five areas—value propositions, customer acquisition, engagement, payments, and servicing—to personalize membership, improve customer experiences, and support growth.
American Express announced an exclusive Airbnb partnership, adding more than 1 million global listings to Amex Travel and expanding travel benefits for eligible U.S. card members.
The company is working with OpenAI to bring Resy discovery and reservations to ChatGPT and develop an Amex Offers plugin; it also described AI travel-planning tools and a partnership with Perplexity for business-card members.
For agentic payments, American Express is developing standards and capabilities including its ACE developer kit, Intent Intelligence framework, and Agent Purchase Protection.
Commercial growth initiatives include the Center acquisition and its Nova platform, Business Savings, Corporate Cashback, and integrated expense-management capabilities; management plans to extend these tools and agents to more business customers.
Management views banking services as part of expanding its organic core and expects them to play a larger role in engaging and acquiring card members.
Financial Guidance and Outlook
American Express reaffirmed full-year revenue growth guidance of 10% and raised its EPS guidance to $18.30–$18.60 reported and $17.60–$17.90 adjusted.
Management said the OCC fine does not affect 2026 guidance, and remediation costs are not anticipated to affect 2027 guidance.
Management expects Q4 VCE growth to moderate significantly as the company fully laps the prior-year Platinum refresh, with growth returning closer to pre-refresh rates.
The company did not provide 2027 guidance on the call, but management said moderating VCE growth supports its continuing mid-teens EPS ambition.
Management said it remained on track for 10% revenue growth and mid-teens EPS growth for the year.
