Executives on earnings call see airlines billing down

Total spending by commercial customers of American Express in the first quarter increased 2% year over year, with spending on T&E and goods and services each up by 2% as well, according to the company.

Spending by U.S. large and global clients, inclusive of T&E and goods and services, increased 1% year over year, while spending by US small and midsized clients was up 2%, according to Amex.

Among commercial clients outside of the US, total spending inclusive of T&E and goods and services increased 13% year over year during the first quarter. Total T&E spending by international clients, which includes both commercial and consumer clients, increased 9%.

Stephen Squeri, CEO, said in an earnings call, “In T&E, while we saw a sequential slowdown in airline billings growth, billings in restaurants and lodging remained strong in the quarter.” Overall T&E growth, he said, “was in line with the steady levels we saw through most of last year.”

Christophe Le Caillec, CFO, said the trend followed across broader company spending. “While the level of macroeconomic uncertainty has increased, the activity that we see across our customer base is consistent with, and in many cases, better than what we saw in 2024.”

 Squeri added that so far in April, even with the uncertainty in the global economy around US tariff policy, spending levels have remained consistent with the first quarter across both T&E and goods and services and across all customer segments.

Amex reported $17 billion in total revenues for the first quarter, up 7% year over year. Its net income for the first quarter was $2.6 billion, up 6% year over year.