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Credit card provider American Express suffered a drop in earnings as a result of the crown pandemic.
In the first quarter, earnings fell 76 percent year-over-year to $ 367 million, the US financial company said on Friday. The spread of the virus has had a strong impact on consumer spending since late February, said American Express, which earns fees for card payments.
Additionally, American Express increased credit default readiness from $ 809 million to $ 2.6 billion, weighing heavily on the balance sheet. “We are now in a different world,” said CEO Stephen J Squeri. The economic slowdown in the wake of the Corona crisis accelerated in April and affected the volume of transactions “dramatically”.
American Express is aggressively reducing costs against charges at all companies, Squeri said. The stock initially reacted positively to the stock market, analysts expected an even bigger drop in earnings. Total revenue decreased 1 percent to $ 10.3 billion in the first quarter, largely due to the strong dollar that detracted from international revenue.
American Express shares eventually gained 0.86 percent to $ 83.17 on the NYSE trade, while it was initially in the red.
NEW YORK (dpa-AFX)
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