AmEx Boosted by Holiday Spend, DOJ Clears GBT Deal

AmEx Boosted by Holiday Spend, DOJ Clears GBT Deal

American Express (AXP) closed the week with tangible, non-speculative wins across its core businesses. A sharp uptick in holiday card spending, a cleared regulatory path for a key commercial-services acquisition, and solid growth in merchant network volumes together offer direct support to the company’s revenue trajectory and investor sentiment.

Consumer Strength: Holiday Spending Climbs

American Express reported robust cardholder activity over the Thanksgiving-to-Cyber-Monday window. Total consumer retail spending on AmEx cards rose roughly 9% year-over-year for the holiday week, with premium cardholders—particularly Platinum customers—outspending peers by about 13%. These gains outpaced broader online spending metrics for the period and signal resilience in high-margin, affluent customer cohorts.

Why this matters

Higher spend from premium cardholders translates into stronger discount revenue and elevated non-interest income—both critical drivers of AmEx’s profitability. When affluent consumers maintain or increase card usage, the company benefits not only from transaction-related fees but also from ancillary streams such as travel-related purchases, cardmember benefits leverage, and interest income mix.

Commercial Services: DOJ Dismissal Clears M&A Path

In a concrete regulatory development, the U.S. Department of Justice dismissed its lawsuit challenging American Express Global Business Travel’s (AmEx GBT) acquisition of CWT. With that legal hurdle removed, the $540 million transaction is expected to close in the discussed timeframe, paving the way for integration and the realization of estimated synergies.

Immediate implications

• Regulatory clarity reduces execution risk and uncertainty around expected accretion from the deal.
• Management can accelerate integration planning to capture projected net synergies—reported in the range of roughly $155 million—improving margins over time.
• Expanded service capabilities strengthen AmEx’s position in technology-enabled business travel and corporate expense management.

Merchant & Network Services: Volume and Revenue Momentum

On the merchant side, American Express’s payments network continued to expand. Network volumes rose about 9% year-over-year in the most recent quarter, reaching approximately $479 billion, while pretax segment income increased by around 5%. Discount revenue—fees AmEx earns on transactions—was a primary contributor to non-interest revenue growth, offsetting softness in some processing and service fee lines.

Operational takeaways

Growing card acceptance and elevated transaction levels strengthen the merchant services franchise. As acceptance widens and premium card usage remains healthy, discount income should continue to provide a stable revenue base even if other fee categories fluctuate.

Bottom Line

These three developments—robust holiday spending, the DOJ’s dismissal of the challenge to the AmEx GBT–CWT deal, and rising merchant network volumes—are concrete, near-term positives for American Express. Together they reduce key execution risks, underpin revenue growth across segments, and offer a clearer pathway to the cost and margin improvements management has outlined. For shareholders and analysts focused on AXP, the latest data provide measurable reasons to view the company’s next quarters with greater confidence.

Conclusion

American Express entered the season with tangible operational wins: consumer spending strength, M&A regulatory clearance, and persistent merchant-network momentum. These factors combine to support revenue and income visibility for AXP in the coming quarters, making the company’s fundamentals demonstrably stronger based on the most recent, non-speculative reports.