American Express sales were weaker than expected

American Express (NYSE: AXP) said Friday that its first-quarter revenue for the fiscal year is lower than Wall Street estimates due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Shares of American Express that you can learn to buy online here are down about 4% in pre-market trading on Friday, but they recovered nearly half of their daily losses in the open market. Including the price action, the stock is now trading at £ 104.15 a share. By comparison, 2021 started at just under £ 85.12 a share.

Results versus analyst estimates

Are you looking for current news, good advice and market analysis?

Subscribe to the Invezz newsletter today.

American Express said its first-quarter net income was 1.59 billion pounds, which translates to 1.98 pounds a share. In the corresponding quarter of last year, net income was limited to 264.64 million pounds, or 29.56 pence per share.

The financial services firm estimated its first-quarter sales at £ 6.53 billion (after deducting interest charges), compared to a higher figure of £ 7.43 billion a year earlier. American Express attributed the decline to lower credit, member spending and the average discount rate.

According to FactSet, experts expected the company to generate £ 6.64 billion in revenue this quarter. Their estimated earnings per share was £ 1.16. In the previous quarter (Q4), American Express made a profit of £ 1.05 billion, according to the report released in the last week of January.

CEO Stephen Squire’s comments on Friday

Excluding travel and leisure, member spending increased, as American Express added on Friday, 11% year-over-year. CEO Stephen Squire said:

“We see 2021 as a transitional year, in which we will focus on making investments to rebuild the growth momentum in our core business. We kicked off the Map Acquisition Engine and added 2.1 million new special maps over the course of the quarter. In addition, the added value that we provide to many of our premium products contributes to Card member engagement is increasing, our attrition and customer satisfaction continue to outpace pre-pandemic levels. “

In separate news from the US, the Personal Care Company is published Kimberly Clark Friday is also the quarterly results.

American Express has remained roughly flat in the stock market on average last year with an annual decline of nearly 2%. At the time of writing, the New York-based multinational has a market cap of £ 83.71 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 38.36.