Why Shares of American Express Are Up Today

Shares of American Express (NYSE: AXP) traded nearly 10% higher as of 11:25 a.m. ET today after the company reported earnings results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2021.

American Express reported diluted earnings per share of $2.18 on revenue of roughly $12.1 billion in Q4, easily beating analyst estimates. For the full year, American Express reported $10.02 EPS on total revenue of $42.4 billion, also beating estimates.

In the quarter, the company saw a nice uptick in loan balances, with period-end balances up more than 15%. Billed business in Q4 is up 33% from the fourth quarter of 2020 and up 12% from the fourth quarter of 2019. Spending related to travel and entertainment continued to recover, in Q4 2021 reaching 82% of levels seen prior to the pandemic in Q4 2019.

Source Fool.com