American Express laid off 5% of its workforce, raised its profit forecast by less than 1%, and disclosed a $350 million penalty for money laundering failures.
American Express (AmEx) announced a roughly 5% workforce reduction today, booking a $336 million restructuring charge.
The company's third-quarter earnings release lifted the midpoint of its full-year adjusted profit forecast by 15 cents a share. That puts the new midpoint less than 1% above what analysts had been expecting.
The bottom of its adjusted profit range moved from $17.30 to $17.60, while the top stayed put at $17.90.
The midpoint of the new forecast rose from $17.60 to $17.75, an increase of 0.85%.
Analysts had penciled in $17.63, meaning the company's outlook now trades 12 cents above the consensus.
Separately, the card issuer faces a $350 million fine tied to $13 billion in suspected money laundering that went undetected.
Investors reacted by selling off AmEx shares, driving the stock down 3.7% by midday in New York. The stock has fallen 15% so far this year.
The layoffs are partly funded by a one-off gain. AmEx booked an almost $1 billion pretax profit from the sale of its Global Business Travel stake, more than covering the $336 million restructuring expense.
On the earnings call, CEO Stephen Squeri said the firm is “dropping two thirds of the gain to the bottom line.”
CFO Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC the job cuts aim to make AmEx “leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI.” He described the plan as to “reduce layers and increase spans of controls.”
The executive explained that with fewer managers supervising larger teams, the company can “automate and take advantage of AI.”
Regulator fines AmEx $350m over decade of money-laundering lapses
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found, on October 8, “inadequate resources, including staff without sufficient expertise” in AmEx’s anti-money laundering program, 15 days before the job cut news.
Comptroller Jonathan Gould told AmEx that banks must “devote sufficient resources to ensure compliance with laws and regulations designed to detect and prevent money laundering.”
It is not clear from AmEx's filings how the job cuts might affect its compliance teams.
Squeri stated that the OCC penalty “does not impact our full-year 2026 guidance.”
Share to
Disclaimer: this article comes from third-party media and is provided for reference only. It does not constitute investment advice. Crypto and other financial products carry significant price volatility risk, so please make your own decisions carefully.
Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon report earnings this week as Nasdaq indices trade below key moving averages. Investors look for signs to reverse the technical…
US stocks were mixed on Tuesday, but underlying weakness persisted as declining stocks outnumbered advancers across all major indices.
Technology stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, leaving buyers cautious as futures point lower and the dollar trades mixed.
Bank stocks fell $22.8bn after customers gave AI bots access to their accounts.