American Express’ affluent cardmembers are showing few signs of curbing their spending, and younger customers drove growth in first-quarter transaction volumes, Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC.
Billed business on AmEx cards rose 6% in the period, or 7% when adjusted for the impact of leap year, the company reported Thursday, which shows that the bump in spending late last year continued into 2025, according to Le Caillec.
Those trends have continued into April, the CFO said, despite sharp declines in stocks this month amid concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies will cause a recession.
The dynamic, which helped AmEx top expectations for first-quarter profit, shows that the company’s wealthier customer base may help to insulate it from concerns about tariffs and stubborn inflation. On the other end of the credit spectrum, Synchrony Financial, which offers store cards for dozens of popular retailers, has warned of a spending slowdown.
“There’s a lot of stability and strength, despite the news and the environment,” Le Caillec said.
Growth at AmEx came from younger cardholders, with millennial and Gen Z members spending 14% more in the quarter. Gen X and Baby Boomer cardholders showed more caution, registering 5% and 1% increases, respectively.
Le Caillec said it’s difficult to discern whether cardmembers were pulling forward purchases because of the looming tariffs, creating an artificial boost to purchase volumes, as JPMorgan executives said last week. But some small businesses may be doing so to build inventory because of concerns about the duties increasing costs, he added.
