American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) moved higher in Friday markets, on quarterly numbers
The company revealed first-quarter net income of $367 million, or $0.41 per share, compared with net income of $1.6 billion, or $1.80 per share, a year ago.
First-quarter consolidated total revenues net of interest expense were $10.3 billion, down 1% from $10.4 billion a year ago. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, adjusted revenues net of interest expense grew 1%.
The quarter reflected softness in spending volumes beginning in the last few days of February that significantly accelerated in March as a result of COVID-19 impacts. This was partially offset by strong overall performance in January and February.
Consolidated provisions for losses were $2.6 billion, up from $809 million a year ago. The increase was driven primarily by significant reserve builds of $1.7 billion, which reflect deterioration of the global estimated macroeconomic outlook as a result of COVID-19 impacts. As of January 1, 2020, the company adopted the new Financial Instruments - Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) standard.
Said CEO Stephen Squeri, "The first two months of 2020 continued the strong momentum we have delivered over the past two years, but we’re now in a different world. The deterioration in the economy due to COVID-19 impacts that began in the first quarter and accelerated in April has dramatically impacted our volumes.
"While we can’t predict just how the economy and our business will perform in the coming months, we can focus on supporting our colleagues and customers while remaining financially strong and positioning for growth when the economy begins to improve."
Shares acquired $1.02, or 1.2%, to $83.45
