Amex Leans on Millennials and AI as Card Spending Accelerates

American Express entered 2026 with a pattern that has become familiar across recent quarters: steady gains in card spending, broad engagement across categories, and a customer base that continues to tilt younger, all of which shaped the company’s first-quarter results and its outlook for the rest of the year.

Card Member spending rose at a pace not seen in several years, supported by gains in both goods and services and travel and entertainment, while billed business growth remained consistent across geographies and segments.

Earnings materials released Thursday (April 23) emphasized that trajectory, showing goods and services spending advancing in the high single digits and travel and entertainment climbing at a comparable rate, with overall billed business up roughly 9% on a foreign exchange-adjusted basis.

During the conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Squeri pointed directly to that spending momentum as the central driver of performance. “We just had the strongest quarter of spending that we had in the last three years,” he said during the analyst question-and-answer session, adding that the company expects that trend to sustain near double-digit revenue growth.

The emphasis on spending strength reflects the structure of the American Express model, which remains tied closely to transaction volume and fee-based products. Squeri noted that more than 70% of new accounts globally are being opened on fee-paying cards, reinforcing the company’s focus on premium customers and recurring revenue streams.

“What we’ve seen with Millennials is, as time goes on, that high share translates into even more spend as they continue to move through their lives and continue to be successful,” Squeri told analysts.

Financial Performance and Investment Discipline

Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec described the quarter as one where growth was both broad-based and deliberate. Revenue increased 11% year over year, supported by gains across discount revenue, net card fees and net interest income, each of which posted double-digit growth.

Le Caillec said management plans to expand spending on marketing and technology following the stronger-than-expected start to the year, a move made possible by both revenue outperformance and some favorable expense items during the quarter.

Credit performance remains stable, with delinquency and write-off rates holding below pre-pandemic levels, while balance growth continues to track closely with spending.

The composition of American Express’s customer base continues to shift in a way that management views as structurally beneficial. Millennials and Generation Z accounted for more than 70% of new consumer accounts, and their spending growth outpaced older cohorts by a wide margin, according to the company’s presentation materials.

Squeri argued that these customers are not only spending more but are also better positioned to navigate economic volatility. He said younger cardholders are “more adaptable, more technology savvy, more in tune with what’s going on in the marketplace today,” and that their early engagement with the brand tends to translate into a larger share of wallet over time.

The data supports that view. Millennials showed double-digit spending growth, as earnings materials showed 13% gains while Gen Z spending rose even faster at 38%m outpacing older demographics that posted mid- to low-single-digit gains.

This dynamic is reinforced by the company’s product strategy. Premium cards, particularly refreshed Platinum offerings, continue to generate higher engagement levels, with elevated spending across travel, dining and entertainment. Le Caillec pointed to lodging and restaurant programs as examples, where usage has climbed sharply following recent enhancements.

American Express is beginning to position itself for what it describes as an emerging shift toward agentic commerce, where artificial intelligence (AI) systems initiate and complete transactions on behalf of consumers and businesses.

During the quarter, the company introduced its Amex Agentic Commerce Experiences developer kit, designed to embed cards into AI-driven purchasing flows, along with a purchase protection framework tailored to those transactions. Management framed this as a natural extension of its closed-loop network, which provides end-to-end visibility into transactions and allows for tighter control over authorization, fraud mitigation and customer protections as commerce becomes more automated.

Despite the strong start, American Express did not raise its full-year outlook. The company reaffirmed its expectation for revenue growth of 9% to 10% and earnings per share in the range of $17.30 to $17.90. Shares were down 2% in early trading on Thursday.