ET Desk
American Express Co. tripled its second-quarter profit as more spending by its card members helped vault its business back to pre-recession levels.
The New York-based credit card company on Thursday registered its third consecutive quarterly gain since snapping a streak of eight straight quarters of falling profits dating to the start of the recession in late 2007.
The results, which exceeded Wall Street's expectations, were further confirmation that the more affluent consumers and businesses that comprise the Amex customer base are spending more freely as the economy slowly regains strength.
American Express earned $1.02 billion in the April-through-June quarter, or 84 cents per share, up from $337 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue was $6.9 billion, up 13 percent from $6.1 billion.