American Express shares rise 4% on earnings, revenue beat
Shares of American Express Co. rose 4% late Wednesday after the credit card company reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. American Express said it earned $1.14 billion, or $1.20 a share, in the quarter, compared with $1.26 billion, or $1.24 a share, in the third quarter of 2015. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $1.24 a share, the same as it reported in the year-ago period. Sales reached $7.77 billion, compared with $8.19 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected American Express to report adjusted earnings of 97 cents a share on sales of $7.71 billion. Despite losing the Costco account earlier this year, and excluding the impact of Costco-related revenues in the year ago-period, adjusted revenues rose 5%, thanks to an increase in member spending, and higher net interest income and net card fees. Shares of American Express had ended the regular session up 2%.
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