AmEx Profits Fall 9 Percent as Customers Fall Behind on Payments

AmEx Profits Fall 9 Percent as Customers Fall Behind on Payments
An American Express logo is attached to a door in Boston's Seaport District on July 21, 2021. Steven Senne/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

NEW YORK—American Express saw its fourth-quarter profits fall by 9 percent, as the credit card giant had to set aside significantly more money to cover potentially bad loans. The company saw charge offs and delinquencies rise, a troubling sign for a company whose customer base is usually well-to-do and extremely creditworthy.

But the company did announce it planned to raise its quarterly dividend and also forecast higher-than-expected profits for 2023, which helped lift the stock in early trading as investors seemed to look past the delinquencies and more at how cardmembers were still strongly spending on their accounts.