Economic uncertainty has not curtailed business customer spending on American Express products, with commercial customer spending in the first quarter continuing growth levels seen through most of last year, the company reported on Thursday.
Total spending by commercial customers in the first quarter increased 2 percent year over year, with spending on T&E and goods and services each up by 2 percent as well, according to Amex. Those numbers don't account for the first quarter this year being a day shorter than the leap year in 2024, which Amex said accounted for a decrease in spending of about 1 percent year over year.
Spending by U.S. large and global clients, inclusive of T&E and goods and services, increased 1 percent year over year, while spending by U.S. small and midsized clients was up 2 percent, according to Amex.
Among commercial clients outside of the United States, total spending inclusive of T&E and goods and services increased 13 percent year over year during the first quarter. Total T&E spending by international clients, which includes both commercial and consumer clients, increased 9 percent.
"In T&E, while we saw a sequential slowdown in airline billings growth, billings in restaurants and lodging remained strong in the quarter," Amex chairman and CEO Stephen Squeri said in an earnings call. "Overall T&E growth was in line with the steady levels we saw through most last year."
Amex CFO Christophe Le Caillec said the trend followed across broader company spending. "While the level of macroeconomic uncertainty has increased, the activity that we see across our customer base is consistent with, and in many cases, better than what we saw in 2024," he said.
Squeri added that so far in April, even with the uncertainty in the global economy around U.S. tariff policy, spending levels have remained consistent with the first quarter across both T&E and goods and services and across all customer segments.
Amex reported $17 billion in total revenues for the first quarter, up 7 percent year over year. Its net income for the first quarter was $2.6 billion, up 6 percent year over year.
Amex Completes Center Acquisition
American Express on Wednesday announced that it had completed its acquisition of expense technology provider Center, which it first announced in early March.
In Thursday's earnings call, Squeri said the acquisition was part of the company's goal to "increase our relevance with SME customers." The company is working toward "one ecosystem" where Center would live among its other offerings for the SME segment, built around the Kabbage platform.
"I don't have an exact time on that," Squeri said of the integration. "As a bank holding company, there is a certain hardening we need to do around the Center product, but part of all that will be integrating it into that platform."
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