Spending by American Express' U.S. commercial customers increased by 4 percent year over year in the first quarter in what Amex chairman and CEO Stephen Squeri called a "very strong start to the year."
Travel and entertainment spending for U.S. commercial customers increased 6 percent year over year in the first quarter, outpacing the 3 percent growth in spending on goods and services. In an earnings call on Thursday, Amex CFO Christophe Le Caillec said overall airline spending by Amex customers was up by 8 percent year over year in the quarter, driven by increased spending from both large corporates and small and midsized clients as well as consumer spending.
That airline spending did soften in the final weeks of March and into April due to the conflict in the Middle East, he said.
"Where it was the most visible is in the volume of refunds that we saw being processed," De Caillec said. "It's always hard to know exactly what happened with these refunds is that people booking on a different schedule or a different airline, but we definitely saw a spike in terms of customer refunds. That being said, the impact is not that large."
Spending by large and SME U.S. clients during the quarter, inclusive of both T&E and goods and services, each increased 4 percent year over year, Amex reported.
Squeri said Amex will "solidify our position" with SME with the upcoming launch of expense management solution Center, which Amex acquired last year. The expense platform is part of a wide range of commercial offerings the company is launching this year, and Squeri said the company also will be integrating AI agent capabilities from its recently announced acquisition of Hyper into Center.
"SME has been and continues to be an area of investment, because we still see it as an area of opportunity for us," Squeri said. "We're known for small business, middle-market and corporate, and we are still a leader in that space, but we are investing now significantly in that."
Spending by international customers in the first quarter continued to be the biggest percentage growth area for Amex. Spending by international commercial clients, inclusive of T&E and goods and services, increased 12 percent year over year during the quarter. T&E spending by consumers and commercial international customers in the first quarter each increased 10 percent year over year.
Amex reported total revenue in the first quarter increased 11 percent year over year to $18.9 billion. The company reported net income of $2.97 billion for the quarter, up from $2.58 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
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