Related: American Express Q4 2018 Earnings Transcript
Higher cardmember spending, loan volumes and card fees drove consolidated revenues higher by 8% to $10.47 billion. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, adjusted revenues net of interest expense grew 10%.
Looking ahead into the full year 2019, the company expects revenue growth in the range of 8% to 10%. Adjusted earnings are anticipated to be in the range of $7.85 to $8.35 per share.
For the third quarter, growth in the loan portfolios and higher lending write-off rate dragged provisions for losses higher by 14%. Consolidated expenses rose 9% on higher rewards and other customer engagement costs.
Revenue from Global Consumer Services Group increased 11% year-over-year on higher loans, cardmember spending, and card fees. Higher cardmember spending drove revenues from Global Commercial Services higher by 15%. Revenue from Global Merchant and Network Services remained flat as a decrease in the average discount rate and lower revenues from network partners offset higher cardmember spending.
Shares of American Express ended Thursday’s regular session up 0.08% at $99.49 on the NYSE. The stock has fallen over 1% in the past year and over 4% in the past three months.