American Express Co. said its second-quarter earnings fell 3.7%,
as results in its international operations were hit by the strong
U.S. dollar.
In addition to stepped up competition from its rivals, the New
York-based company must contend with the loss of its lucrative
16-year partnership with Costco Wholesale Corp. and a U.S. legal
ruling that upends AmEx's long-standing rules that don't permit
merchants to steer customers to other forms of payment—a decision
American Express has said it plans to appeal.
Overall, American Express reported a profit of $1.47 billion, or
$1.42 a share, down from $1.53 billion, or $1.43 a share, a year
earlier. The year-earlier period included a gain related to the
business-travel operations that previously were part of the
company.
Revenue, net of interest expense, decreased 4% to $8.28 billion.
However, revenue rose 5% excluding the impact of currency
conversions and the business-travel operations.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
$1.32 and revenue of $8.46 billion.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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