American Express Profit Jumps 28% as Card Members Stick With the Refreshed Platinum Card

American Express reported third quarter results this week that tell a clear story about what customers will pay for. Net income rose 28% from a year earlier to about $3.71 billion, and revenue net of interest expense reached a record $20.1 billion, up 9%.

Earnings per share came in at $5.42, up 31% and well ahead of the roughly $4.58 that analysts had expected, according to an Investing.com summary of the results. The company also raised its full year earnings guidance. Yet the stock slipped in early trading after the release, a reminder that markets often look past a headline beat to the details underneath.

A premium bet that is paying off

The most telling number in the report is not profit. It is card fees. Net card fees reached about $3 billion in the quarter, up 17% on a currency adjusted basis, and they are now the company's fastest growing revenue line.

That growth follows the refresh of the U.S. Consumer Platinum Card a year ago. When a company raises what it asks of its best customers, the real test is whether those customers stay. Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec told analysts that one year after the refresh, spend retention for the Platinum portfolio remains at 99%.

New customers are leaning premium as well. The company said it acquired 3.1 million new cards in the quarter, and 76% of new accounts were on products that carry an annual fee. Le Caillec described that as the highest share since the company began reporting the measure.

Spending held up where it matters

Billed business, the total spent on American Express cards, grew 8% to about $454 billion, matching the pace of the prior four quarters. U.S. consumer spending rose 9.4%, and international spending rose 11%, extending a run of double digit international growth to 22 straight quarters.

Travel and entertainment led the way. Spending in that category rose 10%, with airline spending up 13% and restaurant spending up 9%. Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Squeri added that spending at Resy restaurants rose 18% and activity through the company's Fine Hotels and Resorts and The Hotel Collection programs rose 50%.

Credit quality stayed steady. Delinquency rates have held at 1.2% or 1.3% for 15 straight quarters, and write off dollars rose only 3% even as loan balances grew 8%.

The harder parts of the quarter

Not every line was good news. The company took a $336 million restructuring charge that it expects will eliminate about 5% of its positions globally. Squeri said leaders had been asked earlier in the year to streamline their organizations and reduce layers so decisions could move faster.

The quarter also included higher legal reserves, including the remaining portion of a civil money penalty from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Squeri said the deficiencies cited in the consent order should not have occurred and that the company is accountable for addressing them. He added that the orders do not impose an asset cap and that remediation costs are not expected to affect 2027 guidance.

Several gains and charges moved the reported number. Excluding the gain from the sale of its stake in Global Business Travel Group and the restructuring charge, adjusted earnings per share were $4.68, up 13%. That adjusted figure is a fairer read on the underlying business.

Betting on AI as a service tool

Squeri spent much of the call on artificial intelligence, but not mainly as a way to cut costs. He framed it as a way to make membership more valuable, from personalized restaurant recommendations to secure payments made by AI agents on a customer's behalf.

He also drew a firm line. The company will take what he called a risk based approach and will not let AI assistants run rogue through its systems, allowing access only through approved channels. The company pointed to partnerships with OpenAI and Perplexity, and this week it announced an exclusive partnership with Airbnb that brings more than one million listings into Amex Travel.

Lessons for business owners

The first lesson is that value can justify price. Customers accepted a richer and more expensive Platinum offer because the benefits felt worth it, and nearly all of them kept spending. Raising prices without raising value rarely ends that way.

The second is that discipline protects growth. American Express grew balances while keeping credit losses low, because it focused on customers who could afford to borrow. Growth that brings in the wrong customers often costs more later than it earns now.

The third is that hard choices and good results can arrive together. A record quarter came with job cuts, a regulatory penalty and a falling share price. Strong leaders address the difficult parts openly instead of letting the headline numbers carry the whole story.

The bottom line

American Express showed that a premium strategy can keep working even in a crowded market, as Squeri acknowledged that rivals including Chase, Citi and Capital One are competing hard for the same customers. Its next test is whether card fee growth stays strong once the Platinum refresh is fully behind it, which management expects in the fourth quarter. For now, the message from this report is simple. When customers believe they are getting real value, they stay.