What to Expect When American Express Reports on Friday

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 30, 6:24PM EST · Published Jul 18, 11:35AM EDT

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What to Expect When American Express Reports on Friday — © magnez2 / Getty Images

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP | AXP Price Prediction) is scheduled to release its second-quarter financial results before the markets open on Friday. The consensus estimates call for $2.04 in earnings per share (EPS) and $10.82 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $1.84 in EPS and $10 billion in revenue.

In the first quarter, Amex said that consolidated total revenues net of interest expense increased 7% year over year. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, adjusted revenues net of interest expense grew 9%. The increases were broad-based and reflected higher card member spending, loan volumes and fee income.

Consolidated provisions for losses were $809 million, up 4% from $775 million a year ago. The increase reflected continued growth in the loan and receivable portfolios and higher net lending write-offs, partially offset by a smaller reserve build compared to a year ago.

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In terms of its first quarter, Amex reported as follows:

Global Consumer Services Group reported first-quarter net income of $821 million, down 1% from $826 million a year ago.

Global Commercial Services reported first-quarter net income of $586 million, up 7% from $546 million a year ago.

Global Merchant and Network Services reported first-quarter net income of $631 million, up 22% from $516 million a year ago.

Corporate and Other reported first-quarter net loss of $489 million, compared with a net loss of $254 million a year ago

Excluding Thursday’s move, Amex had outperformed the broad markets, with its stock up about 33% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock was up closer to 26%.

A few analysts weighed in on Amex ahead of the report:

Wells Fargo has an Outperform rating and a $140 price target.
Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating with a $142 price target.
Merrill Lynch has a Buy rating with a $145 price target.
Jefferies has a Hold rating with a $130 price target.
William Blair has an Outperform rating.

Shares of Amex traded up about 0.5% at $127.76 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $89.05 to $129.34.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.