By Robin Sidel
American Express Co. is expected to report fourth-quarter
results on Wednesday after the market closes. Here's what you need
to know:
EARNINGS FORECAST: Earnings of $1.38 a share is the consensus of
analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, compared with $1.21 a share a
year earlier. The company hasn't provided guidance for the fourth
quarter.
REVENUE FORECAST: Revenue of $8.53 billion is forecast, down
from $8.55 billion a year earlier.
--CONSUMER SPENDING TRENDS: The credit-card issuer and network
provides key information about consumer credit performance and
spending trends from the latest quarter, which will include the
holiday shopping season. The company also usually gives some early
indications of spending trends that is seeing so far in the current
quarter.
--JOINING FORCES: The company is revving up partnerships with
merchants, from Apple Inc. to McDonalds Corp. to Uber in an effort
to promote mobile payments and its rewards programs. It also has
launched a program to gain acceptance among small merchants that
don't now take its cards. "I think the digital transformation that
we're bringing about in our core businesses and the relationships
that we're forming to drive incremental business for merchants is
going to be very helpful for us," CEO Kenneth Chenault said at a
conference last month.
--REVENUE LEVELS FOLLOWING RECENT SHORTFALLS: AmEx has been
falling short of its longtime revenue-growth target of 8%, but the
company has been able to meet earnings expectations, in part by
controlling expenses. Investors will be looking for guidance about
revenue expectations in 2015.
Write to Robin Sidel at robin.sidel@wsj.com
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