Third-quarter global corporate travel sales at American Express dropped 9 percent from a year earlier,

to $4.4 billion. Those sales were down for the third consecutive quarter and ran counter to an 8 percent increase in Amex's U.S. consumer travel spending. "We are seeing lower T&E spending compared to other categories, pretty broadly," said CFO Dan Henry during a Wednesday conference call with analysts. "We see large corporations in particular being a little bit conservative here." Amex also reported moderating growth in cardholder spending, which increased 8 percent in the United States and 6 percent globally. Overall, the company's third-quarter net income rose 1 percent to $1.25 billion, "driven by higher revenues and lower expenses."