American Express Misses Third-Quarter Revenue Views, Plans 5% Global Workforce Cut

12:25 PM EDT, 10/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- American Express (AXP) reported third-quarter revenue just below Wall Street's expectations on Friday, while the payments company's chief executive disclosed plans to terminate about 5% of its global workforce. Revenue, net of interest expense, rose 9% year-on-year to $20.06 billion for the September quarter, but was shy of the FactSet-polled consensus of $20.12 billion. Net income jumped 31% to $5.42 a share, ahead of the Street's view for $4.63. American Express' stock declined 3.6% in Friday trade, taking its year-to-date loss to 15%. The bottom-line included a $982 million pre-tax gain from the sale of the company's roughly 30% stake in Global Business Travel Group. Excluding that gain, EPS came in at $4.68, topping the average analyst estimate of $4.48. The company plans to terminate 5% of its global workforce as it seeks to streamline the organization and invest in key areas, CEO Stephen Squeri said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. American Express incurred a $336 million pretax restructuring charge in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank expected American Express' EPS to trail the Street's consensus as the bank moderated estimates on billed business and net interest income growth, according to a client note emailed at the end of last month. The third-quarter adjusted EPS includes an increase in legal reserves of $0.51, reflecting the remaining portion of a civil penalty imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec said on the call. Earlier in October, the OCC fined a banking unit of American Express $350 million for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering programs. For 2026, American Express now anticipates GAAP EPS between $18.30 and $18.60, up from its previous projection of $17.30 to $17.90. On an adjusted basis, the metric is expected to be in a range of $17.60 to $17.90. The Street is looking for GAAP and non-GAAP EPS of $17.68 and $17.60, respectively. The company continues to project revenue growth of 10% for the ongoing year, in line with the current average analyst estimate on FactSet. Revenue in the US consumer services segment climbed 11% to $9.84 billion, while international card services added 10% to $3.68 billion. Commercial services and global merchant and network services advanced 6% each. Payments giants Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) are scheduled to release their latest financial results next week. Price: 313.87, Change: -11.30, Percent Change: -3.48