American Express Company: Reinvesting the beat – still a Buy

Research evidence excerpt

American Express Company: Reinvesting the beat – still a Buy

• US consumer & small business deposits grew 9% y/y, with only ~10% of US card

members currently holding a deposit account, highlighting a significant cross-sell

opportunity.

• The Platinum refresh remains the primary driver of US Consumer acceleration,

contributing through new acquisitions, upgrades from other products, and higher

spending from tenured cardmembers.

• Management continues to see no evidence of a broader consumer slowdown, with

travel billings up 10% globally and airline spending posting its strongest growth in

six quarters despite geopolitical concerns.

• Card fee growth is expected to accelerate through 2H26 and exit the year in the

high teens, driven primarily by the Platinum repricing and refresh cycle.

• Management expects marketing expense growth to accelerate to ~10% y/y in 2H26,

reflecting increased investment in customer acquisition as revenue momentum

remains strong.

• Technology investments are being accelerated into 2H26, including platform

modernization initiatives and AI deployment, with management preferring to bring

forward spending rather than defer projects

• AI is already reducing development cycle times by 30-40%, allowing the company to

complete more technology projects and accelerate product development, though

management is not yet embedding material P&L savings assumptions into

guidance.

• Commercial billings improved sequentially over the last two quarters,

• AXP launched a pilot of the of Center-based expense management platform, which

management believes should improve both customer retention and new client

acquisition in the middle-market segment.

• Management views agentic commerce as a potential future competitive advantage