Oh, who's laughing now, recession?
American Express (NYSE: AXP) reported a drop
in year-over-year earnings, but credit quality and consumer
spending habits sprang back from the train wreck numbers of
earlier this year.
Net income came in at $640 million, or $0.53 per share,
down from $815 million, or $0.70 per share in the same period
last year. The current results were boosted by a one-time
$113 million after-tax gain. That in itself doesn't look
great, but all the action is in the details:
Metric
Q3 2009
Q2 2009
Q3 2008
30-Day Delinquencies
4%
4.3%
3.8%
Net Charge-Off Rate
8.6%
9.7%
5.7%
Total Purchase Volume
$156.6 billion
$151.4 billion
$175.5 billion
Average Cardmember Spending
$2,898 Continued... |