Proactive Investors - American Express Company (NYSE:AXP, ETR:AEC1) reported a surge in profits for the first quarter driven by higher spending and new customers, which sent shares of the financial services company higher in early trade.
For the quarter ended March 31, American Express reported a profit of $2.3 billion or $3.33 per share, up from $1.8 billion or $2.40 per share a year-ago.
This represented a 39% year-over-year leap in EPS and was ahead of Wall Street estimates of $2.97.
Revenue increased by 11% from the year-ago quarter to $15.8 billion attributed to higher net interest income and increased card member spending, in line with Street expectations.
High engagement from premium customers drove growth, CEO Stephen Squeri highlighted.
"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,” he said.
“Our fee-based products accounted for around 70% 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% of new consumer account acquisitions globally.”
The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance of revenue growth of 9% to 11% and EPS in the range of $12.65 to $13.15.
Analysts expect revenue growth of about 9.4% to $66.3 billion and earnings per share of $12.83 for 2024.
American Express shares gained 3.5% at $225 shortly after the market opened on Friday.