Travel Demand Pushes American Express Spending to All-Time High

American Express reported an all-time high in spending through its card products during the latest quarter, driven by travel and entertainment experiences demand.

Spending was up by double digits both from U.S. consumers and card members outside the U.S., Stephen Squeri, American Express CEO, said during its second-quarter earnings call.

Source: American Express

Squeri pointed to the healthy U.S. consumer who remains ready to travel, despite the continued risk of a possible recession. He said the strength of forward travel bookings continue to be higher than the same period in 2022, and exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

"Travel and Entertainment spending remained strong across customer categories and geographies, growing 14% on an FX-adjusted basis. We also saw reservations on our Resy restaurant platform reach a quarterly high and bookings through our consumer travel business reach their highest levels since before the pandemic."

The company continued to see strong demand on its premium products bringing in 70% of new accounts, while Millennial and Gen Z consumers remained the fastest-growing customer segment, making up 60% of new consumer accounts for the quarter. Spending by young U.S. consumers increased by 21%.

The company generated second-quarter net income of $2.17 billion, or $2.89 a share, compared with $1.96 billion, or $2.57 a share, in the previous quarter.