American Express Co.

Beats + raises revenue outlook, keeps EPS guidance (capital reinvestment choice) - Q2 performance: Revenue +10% YoY; EPS $4.53 (up ~11% YoY per CFO). Pretax income +15%, net income +8% (net impacted by prior-year tax discretes). - Guidance change: Due to better-than-expected performance YTD, management raises full-year revenue growth guidance to 10% (from prior outlook). - EPS guidance unchanged: Still expects full-year EPS $17.30–$17.90. Management explicitly chose not to convert upside into higher buybacks to instead reinvest in growth initiatives (aimed at sustaining long-term ROE).

Premium strategy working: Platinum refresh driving spend/fees; credit performance better than expected - Platinum refresh timing: Management reiterated product refresh benefits show up 1–2 years after launch (engagement first, then fee/VCE economics improve as fees “kicking in”). - Demand / spend momentum: U.S. consumer spending up 11% (highest growth since Q1 2018 excluding pandemic-era impacts). Spend growth stepped up to 9% FX-adjusted in both Q1 and Q2. - Card fees strong: Net card fees grew double-digit, with net card fees up 15.4% and 32 consecutive quarters of card fee growth; 32+ quarters noted for fee growth durability. - Credit risk stability (key “good”): Delinquency and write-offs remain below 2019 levels; delinquency has been 1.2%–1.3% for 3+ years. CFO also cited CCAR stress results showing lowest projected credit card loss rate across all banks under a severely adverse scenario.

Growth composition and sustainability: mix of acquisition + engagement, not just “more spending by mature base” - On the USCS 11.4% billed growth question: management said the acceleration is primarily driven by the Platinum refresh and is a combination of: - New account acquisition, plus - Tenured card members increasing spend / consolidating spend into Platinum. - Younger customers engagement: 65% of new consumer accounts were Millennials/Gen-Z; this cohort remains the fastest-growing in U.S. consumer.