American Express Raises Earnings Outlook -- 2nd Update - Nasdaq

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By Robin Sidel and Anne Steele

American Express Co. reported stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for the third quarter and said it would
aggressively pursue a series of initiatives in the fourth quarter, including an "extensive" advertising campaign and an
increased emphasis on its platinum card.

The New York-based card company said the quarterly results are giving it fresh confidence to pump up investment
spending during the upcoming holiday shopping season.

AmEx also boosted its earnings guidance for 2017. The company said it now expects earnings, excluding restructuring
charges, of $5.90 to $6 a share, up from its prior estimate for $5.40 to $5.70.

"Strong operating discipline and credit quality helped to keep us ahead" of the company's initial outlook, said
Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault, said in a statement.

The results follow a difficult period for AmEx. The company has repeatedly fallen short of its revenue targets and
has lost key partnerships, including a 16-year relationship with Costco Wholesale Corp.

Mr. Campbell warned that the company still faces challenges, including a slowdown in corporate spending and intense
competition from rivals. At the same time, however, he said that credit trends are better than the company had expected
several months ago.

In all, American Express reported a profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.20 a share, down from $1.27 billion, or $1.24 a
share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring charges, earnings were flat at $1.24 a share, beating analyst estimates
for 97 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Revenue fell 5.1% to $7.78 billion. The top line increased 5%, however, excluding the impact of Costco-related
revenue in the year earlier-period, reflecting a rise in card member spending, along with higher net interest income and
net card fees.

The company, which earlier this year said it would cut $1 billion in costs, said its third-quarter expenses
declined 3%.

In addition to the renewed emphasis on the platinum card and the ad campaign, Mr. Campbell said that the company
will introduce new promotions for its "Small Business Saturday" event that encourages consumers to shop at small
businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

"It will be a very active fourth quarter," Mr. Campbell said.

AmEx won a big legal victory last month when a federal appeals court tossed out an antitrust judgment against the
company, ruling that it could keep barring merchants from steering customers to cards with lower merchant fees. The
decision reversed a lower-court ruling that had determined AmEx's rules for merchants violated antitrust rules.

On the conference call, Mr. Campbell reminded analysts that the Justice Department, which brought the antitrust
case against AmEx, has the right to appeal the most recent court decision.

Write to Robin Sidel at robin.sidel@wsj.com and Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

 (END) Dow Jones Newswires
 10-19-161849ET
 Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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