American Express Co. said Monday its earnings rose 16 percent last quarter to a new record, helped by strong spending by its growing card member customer base.
Second-quarter earnings rose to $1.0 billion, or 81 cents a share, from $876 million, or 68 cents a year ago, the company said in a statement. It was the 14th consecutive quarter that American Express reported double-digit earnings growth.
American Express, whose shares rose 1 percent in afternoon trading Monday, said sales rose 11 percent to $8.0 billion, lifted by what it characterized as “record card member spending.”
The company said its return on equity -- a gauge of underlying financial fundamentals that analysts eye -- rose 23.1 percent.
The company also saw the number of card holders surge. In the past three months alone, American Express said it had added 1.2 million cards.
“Strong momentum in our card business ... drove another quarter of record earnings,” Kenneth I. Chenault, American Express’s chairman and chief executive said in a statement.
Adding those new cards was costly. During the second quarter, American Express increased its advertising spending by 18 percent.
The company’s set aside for potential losses rose 7 percent during the second quarter, American Express said.
