Credit card company American Express said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profits rose 20 percent from a year earlier, as eager consumers spent record levels of money during the holiday season on the company’s namesake cards.
AmEx posted a profit of $1.72 billion, or $2.18 a share, up from $1.44 billion, or $1.76 a share, a year earlier. The results were far better than what analysts were looking for, who on average forecast earnings per share of $1.86.
