Executives on earnings call see ‘green shoots’ of improvement

American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) saw a 2% year-over-year decline in total transactions in April, beginning the second quarter with “heightened macro uncertainty,” according to CEO Paul Abbott, speaking on an earnings call. Those results reversed in May and June, with transactions up 2% over 2024 for the two months — up 3% on a workday-adjusted basis. The total of $7.9 billion in transactions for the quarter, said Abbott, was driven both by the transaction growth and “modestly” higher average airfares and hotel room rates.

Transactions were down 1% year over year in April and up 3% year over year for global multinational clients. They declined 4% in April and increased 2% in May and June for small and midsize clients (SMEs).

The company, according to executives, is seeing “green shoots” that indicate an improvement in demand into July, and a recent survey of the top 100 customers showed the same trend.

According to Abbott, uncertainty seems to be moderating, with customers less concerned or increasingly neutral on the impact of tariffs, he said. “We are seeing little by way of tangible customer actions taken in terms of travel policy restrictions.”

Amex GBT reported total customer wins valuing $3.2 billion in the second quarter, $2.2 billion of which were SME customers, and the company reported a 95% customer retention rate for the quarter.

Abbott said he was unable to provide detailed financial information about CWT until after Amex GBT’s merger with that TMC closes. He reiterated the $155 million in “identified net synergies” that Amex GBT expects from the merger and said the company expects to “deliver those over a three-year period” and “see 30% of those synergies in the first 12 months.”

The company reported $631 million in revenue in the second quarter, up 1% year over year. It reported a net income of $15 million for the quarter, down from $27 million in the second quarter of 2024.