Amex GBT had a “record year” of revenue in 2024, ending with a 10% year-over-year increase in total transaction value (TTV) in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to CEO Paul Abbott, speaking on a fourth quarter earnings call. Executives also pushed back the timing for the closing of the proposed acquisition of CWT until the third or fourth quarter of this year.
The fourth quarter saw TTV of $6.9 billion, up from $6.3 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous year, while revenue increased 8% to $591 million. Travel revenue increased 7% year over year to $456 million, and products and professional services revenue was up 10% year over year to $135 million.
A February survey by the company of its 100 top customers showed 80% saying their travel spending will be flat or up this year. Transactions showed growth following the presidential election, with growth rates in November and December two percentage points higher than they were for the full quarter.
That was encouraging, said Abbott, but he added that “there is still a fair amount of uncertainty in terms of the geopolitical environment.” For businesses, he said, “in order to plan longer-term, stability is important.”
For the full year, Amex GBT reported that TTV was up 8% year over year to $30.5 billion, and revenue increased 6% to $2.4 billion. Transaction growth for the year was 5%, coming off growth of 18% in 2023. The growth in 2024 was stronger for global multinational clients, which had transaction growth of 8%, compared with 2% for small and midsized clients.
Although SME transaction growth “has been muted but stable for several quarters,” said Abbott, SME clients accounted for $2.2 billion of Amex GBT’s reported $2.8 billion in customer wins for the year. About a quarter of those new SME clients, he said, were previously unmanaged.
The company reported a net loss of $14 million for the fourth quarter, an improvement from a $46 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2023. For the full year, there was a net loss of $134 million, slightly better than the $136 million loss in 2023.
A trial date of Sept. 8 is set for the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit to block Amex GBT’s $570 million purchase of CWT. Eric Bock, chief legal officer, said there are a number of different scenarios, but assuming a trial of two to three weeks, that probably means a decision in October.
Bock added that Amex GBT will “continue to have dialogue with DOJ” leading up to the trial date, as the case was filed in the last days of the Biden administration. The Trump administration may have a different point of view on this, said Bock, who added: “We don’t know. We can’t speculate. We’ll continue to talk to the US government about this case and move forward as appropriate.”
