American Express Company (AXP) UBS Financial Services Conference 2026 summary

Consumer trends and spend performance

• Global spend grew consistently at 7–8% with an uptick in the second half of 2025, driven by strong travel and entertainment spending, especially in premium segments like front-of-cabin travel and luxury lodging.

• Holiday shopping season spend rose 9%, with Platinum Card member spend up 12% during the same period.

• Customer credit quality remains robust, with low write-off and delinquency rates, supporting financial performance.

Product strategy and card acquisition

• Focus shifted from maximizing new card acquisitions to prioritizing high-fee, high-engagement card members, especially Platinum, which spends about 10 times more than entry-level cards.

• Q4 saw a sequential decline in new cards acquired, with new card acquisitions at 1.3 million in Q4'25, but a significant increase in average fee per account, peaking at $282 in Q4'25 due to strong demand for premium products.

• Platinum Card refresh outperformed previous Gold and Delta refreshes, with high acquisition, efficiency, and retention rates (99% for consumer, 98% for small business).

• New accounts acquired metric excludes supplemental cards, focusing on primary cardholder growth.

Financial outcomes and premiumization

• Card fee revenue has grown at a 17% CAGR since 2018, with guidance for high-teens growth by end of 2025, driven by premium product focus.

• Credit metrics remain best-in-class, with delinquency rates at 1.2–1.3% over the past two years.

• Premiumization is raising the VCE (variable card member engagement) ratio, especially as premium and co-branded cards have higher VCE ratios.