Skip to content

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

American Express share price up 1% on Q1 earnings revenue miss

The credit card company had better-than-expected earnings, but narrowly missed on revenue expectations.

American Express logo after American Express Q1 earnings Source: Bloomberg

American Express share price is up after a mixed earnings report. American Express Q1 earnings were up, but American Express Q1 revenue was weaker-than-expected.

American Express earnings:key figures

Earnings per share $2.01
Revenue $10.36 billion
Net income $1.55 billion
Merchant and network srvices revenue $1.6 billion

American Express share price up 1% as earnings revenue misses estimates

American Express Q1 earnings per share were $2.01, slightly above Wall Street estimates of $1.99. American Express Q1 revenue grew 7% to $10.36 billion, but still fell below predictions of $10.46 billion. The credit card company’s net income fell from $1.86 billion in spring 2018 to $1.55 billion. The corporation’s merchant and network services revenue was unchanged at $1.6 billion.

American Express chief executive officer (CEO), Stephen Squeri, spoke about the positive aspects of American Express’ Q1 profits. He spoke about the success of the company’s digital payments partnership with Paypal and increase in loans.

‘We continued to expand our merchant network and added 3.1 million new proprietary cards in the quarter driven primarily by our digital acquisition initiatives. Loan growth continued to be strong, and credit quality remained at industry-leading levels,’ said Squeri.

How did American Express Q1 results compare to banks with credit cards?

Compared to Citigroup’s Q1 earnings, American Express Q1 earnings were mixed as well. Citigroup had high earnings, but worse-than-expected revenue.

What’s next for American Express 2019 earnings?

After the mixed American Express Q1 results, the credit card company predicted an increase of 8-10% in 2019 revenue. American Express Q2 earnings per share are expected to be between $7.35- $8.35. That projection falls in line with financial analysts’ projection of $8.13. Squeri predicted that American Express earnings will increase with expansions of the corporation’s divisions.

‘Looking ahead, we continue to see a number of attractive growth opportunities across our businesses, and we're going to invest to take advantage of those opportunities in order to drive revenue growth over the moderate to longer term,’ said Squeri.

American Express Q1 profits continue mixed results for payment companies

American Express Q1 earnings are part of a pattern of strong earnings and weak revenue from banks and payment companies. American Express Q1 revenue was hurt by extra expenses of paying card member rewards. Despite high expenses, American Express Q1 earnings show that the company can still survive the advent of digital cards through strategic partnerships.

This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.

Act on share opportunities today

Go long or short on thousands of international stocks with spread bets and CFDs.

  • Get full exposure for a comparatively small deposit
  • Trade on spreads from just 0.1%
  • Get greater order book visibility with direct market access

See opportunity on a stock?

Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re on to something.

  • Log in to your demo
  • Take your position
  • See whether your hunch pays off

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.

  • Trade a huge range of popular stocks
  • Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
  • See and react to breaking news in-platform

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take advantage while conditions prevail.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Equities
  • Indices
  • Forex
  • Commodities
website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All share prices are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

" >


Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All share prices are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.

Plan your trading week

Get the week’s market-moving news sent directly to your inbox every Sunday. The Week Ahead gives you a full calendar of upcoming economic events, as well as commentary from our expert analysts on the key markets to watch.


For more info on how we might use your data, see our privacy notice and access policy and privacy webpage.

You might be interested in…

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of spread betting and CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.