Q2 2026 billed business grew 9% year-over-year to $455.8 billion, with U.S. Consumer Services up 11% (accelerated by the U.S. Platinum refresh), Commercial Services up 5% (reflecting an expected moderation from exiting small business cobrand held-for-sale portfolios), and International Card Services up 13% (12% FX-adjusted). Goods & Services spend grew 9% and T&E spend grew 10%, with airline spend accelerating. Credit metrics improved: the net write-off rate (principal only, consumer and small business) held at 2.0% and 30+ days past due declined to 1.2% from 1.3%, driving a $190 million card-balance reserve release versus a $198 million build in the prior-year quarter.
On January 12, 2026, American Express completed its acquisition of the partner's remaining interest in Swisscard AECS GmbH, making it a wholly owned subsidiary within the International Card Services segment; the company recognized $272 million of intangible assets, $136 million of goodwill, and a remeasurement gain. During Q2 2026, the company announced it will sell its approximately 30% equity stake in Global Business Travel Group pursuant to GBT's pending acquisition, expecting a sizable pre-tax gain upon closing. The company also disclosed a proposed acquisition of TheFork, a European online restaurant reservation and management platform, as part of its dining and Membership Model strategy; the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and a labor consultation process.
On February 25, 2026, the company announced plans to construct a new approximately 1.95 million square foot headquarters at 200 Greenwich Street (the 2 World Trade Center site) in New York City, entering into a construction commitment of up to $2.8 billion. A $370 million finance lease liability was recognized for the associated land lease. Premises and equipment on the balance sheet increased to $7.7 billion from $6.1 billion at year-end 2025, and six-month capex of $2.0 billion (versus $1.0 billion in the prior-year period) reflected costs associated with the headquarters build.
American Express became a Category II firm under the federal enhanced prudential standards during Q2 2026, triggered by cross-jurisdictional activity exceeding $75 billion on a trailing four-quarter average as of March 31, 2026, subjecting it to heightened capital, liquidity, and prudential reporting requirements with phased-in transition periods. On April 16, 2026, the EU Court of Justice issued a ruling on the interpretation of interchange fee caps as applied to the KLM cobrand relationship, holding that payments to a cobrand partner are subject to caps only if they have an equivalent object or effect to an interchange fee, a determination to be made case-by-case; the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal will now apply the ruling to the specific facts. Separately, effective October 1, 2026, the Australian central bank's surcharging rules will no longer permit merchant surcharging on designated card networks, and American Express stated it will no longer permit surcharging in Australia to align.
Card Member services expense surged 50% year-over-year to $1,949 million in Q2 2026, driven by enhanced value propositions on refreshed U.S. Platinum cards and higher usage of Card Member benefits; Card Member rewards expense rose 9% to $5,051 million, partly reflecting changes to the Membership Rewards program for U.S. Business Platinum cards. Net card fees grew 15% to $2,862 million on higher premium card acquisitions and retention, with average fee per card up 12% to $131. The company returned $2,887 million to common shareholders in the quarter through $2,241 million of repurchases (7.1 million shares at an average of $315.77) and $645 million in dividends, maintaining its CET1 ratio at 10.4% within its 10-to-11 percent target range. The company disclosed it is engaging with regulators on aspects of its anti-money-laundering programs and expects to be subject to enforcement action that could include civil money penalties.
(Filed on April 23, 2026)
+9.3%
—
$3.2B
On January 12, 2026, American Express completed its acquisition of the partner's remaining interest in Swisscard AECS GmbH, converting the Switzerland joint venture into a wholly owned subsidiary within the International Card Services segment. The preliminary purchase-price allocation included $272 million of intangible assets (amortized over an estimated 8-year weighted-average life) and $136 million of goodwill, plus a gain on remeasurement of the previously held equity interest; Swisscard's financial results are now consolidated rather than accounted for under the equity method. A related VIE, Swiss Payments Assets AG, was also consolidated.
On February 25, 2026, the company announced plans to construct a new approximately 1.95-million-square-foot headquarters at 200 Greenwich Street (the 2 World Trade Center site) in New York City, committing up to $2.8 billion for construction costs. A $370 million finance lease liability was recognized for the associated land lease. Construction is ongoing and capitalized costs will be depreciated over the building's estimated useful life once in service.
Operations reflected strong engagement on refreshed U.S. Platinum consumer and Business Platinum products, with net card fees up 18% year-over-year and Card Member services expense up 49% driven by new Platinum benefits and higher usage. The company also reported further development of its artificial intelligence capabilities, including agentic commerce initiatives such as the Amex Agentic Commerce Experiences developer kit and Amex Agent Purchase Protection, and referenced upcoming commercial products including the Graphite Business Cash Unlimited Card, an upcoming Corporate Cash Back Card, new expense management software in 2026, and capabilities related to its Center acquisition. Commercial Services billed business included held-for-sale small business cobrand portfolios that will be exited over the course of 2026.
Several regulatory and legal developments affected or are expected to affect operations: the company anticipates transitioning from Category III to Category II status in Q2 2026 (cross-jurisdictional activity exceeding $75 billion), subjecting it to heightened capital, liquidity, and prudential requirements. On March 19, 2026, the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC proposed modernizing the regulatory capital framework; AXP preliminarily estimates the impact on risk-weighted assets could range from a modest reduction to broadly neutral. On April 16, 2026, the EU Court of Justice ruled that payments to a cobrand partner are subject to interchange-fee caps only where they have an equivalent object or effect to an interchange fee, in a proceeding involving the KLM cobrand relationship; the Dutch appeals tribunal will now apply the ruling. In March 2026, Australia's central bank finalized decisions on merchant card payment costs and surcharging for designated networks and indicated it will consider three-party networks such as American Express in a follow-up review planned for mid-2026.
Fundamental operating metrics for the quarter: total billed business of $428.0 billion grew 10% year-over-year (9% FX-adjusted); G&S spend (71% of billed business) grew 10% and T&E spend (29%) grew 12%, though airline spend softened in the final weeks of the quarter due to Middle East conflict travel disruptions. International Card Services, the fastest-growing segment, posted 20% billed business growth (13% FX-adjusted) to $111.7 billion. Proprietary new cards acquired were 3.1 million, down from 3.4 million a year earlier, while proprietary cards-in-force grew 3% to 87.2 million. Net write-off rates (principal, interest, and fees) were 2.3% (vs. 2.4% prior year) and 30+ days past due for consumer and small business remained at 1.3%.
(Filed on February 6, 2026)
+9.9%
—
$3.6B
Q4 2025 (Oct–Dec): American Express repurchased 2,470,692 common shares at an average price of $360.65, leaving 58,349,399 shares remaining under its 120-million-share authorization. Full-year 2025 repurchases totaled 16.8 million shares at an average price of $312.87, returning $7.6 billion to shareholders via buybacks and dividends combined (annual context).
Q4 2025 (Oct 16): KServicing Wind Down Corp., the post-bankruptcy estate of Kabbage Inc., filed an action in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking up to approximately $746 million, alleging that American Express's 2018 acquisition of Kabbage's lending platform constituted a fraudulent transfer that left Kabbage insolvent due to PPP-related liabilities owed to the DOJ and SBA.
Annual 2025 context: American Express launched refreshed U.S. Consumer and Business Platinum Cards at the end of Q3 2025 and reported strong customer demand and engagement for the full year; completed the acquisition of Center (an expense management software company) to enhance commercial B2B payment and expense management offerings; reclassified small business cobrand portfolios (Amazon and Lowe's) to held-for-sale on the balance sheet; and on January 12, 2026 (subsequent to Q4), acquired its partner's interest in the Swisscard joint venture, making Swisscard a wholly owned subsidiary within the ICS segment.
Industry development (November 2025): Visa and Mastercard proposed a court settlement agreement that would, among other things, require reductions and caps on interchange fees, provide merchants greater options to surcharge credit transactions, and allow merchants to choose not to accept certain categories of credit cards. American Express noted that if approved, the settlement could increase surcharging, decrease acceptance of premium cards, or pressure its merchant discount rates via competitor pricing changes.
(Filed on October 17, 2025)
+7.2%
—
$3.2B
American Express launched refreshed U.S. Consumer and Business Platinum Cards in Q3 2025 with expanded lifestyle and business benefits, reporting strong early demand and engagement. The company increased the annual card fee on these products, to be applied to existing Card Members at renewal anniversaries after the effective date and recognized over the membership period. This drove Net card fee revenue growth of 18% YoY for the quarter and contributed to average fee per proprietary card rising 13% to $119 (annualized).
Billed business growth accelerated to 9% YoY ($421.0B; 8% FX-adjusted), driven by 10% growth in total transactions. G&S spend (73% of billed business) grew 9% on strong retail spending, while T&E spend rebounded to 8% (from prior-quarter softness) led by restaurant and airline categories. USCS billed business grew 9% (Millennial/Gen-Z strength), Commercial Services grew 4% (modest U.S. SME growth), and ICS grew 14% (13% FX-adjusted) across all international regions. Discount revenue, the largest revenue line, rose 7% to $9.4B; net interest income grew 12% on balance growth and net yield expansion (yield up 20 bps to 8.2%).
The company acquired 3.2 million proprietary new cards in Q3 (vs. 3.3M in prior-year Q3) and ended the quarter with 151.2 million total cards-in-force (86.0M proprietary, both up 4% YoY). Card Member rewards, services, and business development expenses collectively grew faster than revenues, reflecting investments in premium product benefits (including expanded U.S. Platinum benefits) and a mix shift toward premium products. Marketing expense rose 9% as the company continued investing in high-spending, high-credit-quality customer acquisition.
Credit performance remained stable and best-in-class: the net write-off rate (principal, interest, and fees) was 2.2% for Q3 (flat YoY), principal-only consumer/small business NWR was 1.9% (flat), and 30+ days past due was 1.3% (flat). Total provisions for credit losses decreased 5% to $1.29B, primarily on a lower reserve build (partly offset by higher net write-offs of $1.16B, up 9% on loan growth). The company returned $2.9B to shareholders in Q3 ($2.34B in buybacks of 7.3M shares at $315.26 average; $567M in dividends, up 17% to $0.82/share), maintaining CET1 at 10.5% within its 10–11% target range. Customer deposits reached $149.9B (up 11% YoY) with approximately 3.8 million direct deposit accounts.
In antitrust litigation, a jury in August 2025 returned a verdict in Moskowitz v. American Express finding in favor of the company on all federal antitrust and most state claims, awarding only $12.5M on a narrow Illinois consumer-protection claim for a class of non-rewards credit card holders; post-trial motions and appeals are ongoing. Separately, in March 2025 the company reached an agreement in principle to settle the Milam's Market EMV chip liability-shift antitrust class action (pending final stipulation and court approval). Regarding EU cobrand regulation, the CJEU Advocate General issued an advisory opinion in March 2025 in the KLM cobrand proceeding suggesting that Amex's payments to the cobrand partner may be subject to interchange fee caps, though certain partner-provided payments could be netted; the final CJEU ruling remains pending.
The effective tax rate rose to 24.1% in Q3 (vs. 21.8% prior year) and 21.8% for the nine months (vs. 21.5%), primarily reflecting implementation of the OECD global minimum tax and a California tax law change increasing the proportion of income taxable in that state. The company also extended its committed bank credit facility by two years (to September 2028) and increased its capacity from $4.0B to $6.0B, and extended the Lending Trust securitization facility to September 2028 (reducing capacity from $3.0B to $2.0B). In Q3, the company issued $6.5B of debt, including $3.3B of fixed-to-floating senior notes. The Federal Reserve confirmed the company's stress capital buffer at 2.5%, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.
