American Express touts AI, plans 5% downsizing

• Key insight: Amex plans a 5% downsizing, citing a need for speed in decision-making.
• Expert quote: "I asked the senior leadership team to streamline organization and reduce layers to speed decision making."—Amex Chairman and CEO Steve Squeri. 

American Express' plans to grow its business also includes a lower headcount.
"To accelerate innovation and win we need to become a more agile and efficient organization," Chairman and CEO Steve Squeri said during Friday's earnings call. 

Processing Content

Amex is reducing 5% of its jobs globally, which would be about 3,900 based on the company's 76,800 workers, a move that resulted in a $336 million charge. The company did not directly attribute the move to artificial intelligence or other technology.

"I asked the senior leadership team to streamline organization and reduce layers to speed decision making," Squeri said. 

Amex's earnings

For the quarter ending September 30, Amex reported earnings of $4.68 per share, compared to the $4.47 per share estimated by Zacks, and up from $4.14 per share during 2025's third quarter. Amex reported posted revenue of $20.06 billion, 0.34% below Zacks estimates and up from $18.43 billion the prior year.

Net income for the quarter was $3.7 billion, compared with net income of $2.9 billion a year ago. For 2026, Amex projects EPS of $17.60-$17.90, compared with its prior guidance of $17.30-$17.90 and the average analyst estimate of $17.69. It also projects $79.5 billion, in line with estimates of $79.5 billion.

"Billing and new customer growth remain healthy, but showed modest deceleration," analysts at Jeffries said in a note on Amex.

Squeri also addressed Amex's recent money-laundering related penalty.  The Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in October ordered American Express to overhaul its anti-money-laundering practices and fined Amex $350 million.

Regulators spotted $13 billion in illicit activity at the firm, including transactions with ties to insiders. The fine does not impact Amex's guidance for 2026 or outlook for 2027, and does not impose an asset cap, Squeri said, adding the company is "accountable" for addressing its AML issues. "We have earned trust over many years and won't take it for granted," Squeri said. 

AI boom and business banking

Like most payment companies, Amex is relying on new forms of artificial intelligence to improve internal processes, customer service and product development.

A big part of that is agentic commerce, or the use of AI to perform a wide range of functions, like shopping and checkout, with little or no human interaction. "It's still early in the game and volumes are still small, but AI is fundamentally changing how consumers [engage]," Squeri said.

Amex has deployed technology to vet agents and is developing coverage to "protect" agentic transactions by backing purchases made by AI agents. "AI agents are able to act on customers' behalf, but it doesn't change who the customer is," Squeri said.

During the quarter, Amex released several new AI-related initiatives for businesses, part of a larger push at Amex to internally deploy and externally sell automation for relatively mundane business processes that still require time and expense.

The company combined business payment cards, expense management software and an enhanced mobile app in a single product bundle. The corporate card lets businesses earn 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases, obtain physical and virtual cards for employees, and access expense management software.

The app automatically generates submission-ready expenses as purchases are made, an attempt to streamline manual expense reports for corporate travel or other purchases. The business tools are aimed at midsize and large businesses; and follow an earlier release of the American Express Business Savings Account and new incentive marketing designed for small businesses.

Amex's AI pipeline also includes a new payroll system with "AI-powered insights" scheduled for early 2027. Amex's agentic AI is developed internally, using technology developed by Hyper, an AI company Amex bought earlier this year; and Center, an expense management company Amex purchased in 2025. Terms for both deals were not disclosed.

In September, Amex launched a high-yield American Express Business Savings Account, with plans to  add ways for Graphite Business card members to redeem rewards for deposits into the Amex business checking account. Amex, which has offered a business checking account since 2021, has added a savings account with an annual percentage yield of 2.95% with no minimum balance requirement or monthly maintenance fees. Clients can make and receive transfers online or through Amex's app, using ACH, wire transfers or check deposits, at no cost. Or they can use same-day ACH for a $10 fee.

"The transaction of the future will be more than just a credential, it will have context," Squeri said.
Read more:

• As fintechs nab bank charters, what's happening to BaaS?
• Overheated data center knocked 23 credit unions offline
• Chris Britt still says banking is broken, but Chime can fix it
• Credit unions bulk up a business that banks long dominated

It has been a challenging environment for all financial institutions as investors adjust expectations for macro uncertainties, higher interest rates, competition, and in Amex's case, continued investment, according to analysts at William Blair.

"In our view, Amex holds a leadership position within the premium card market, and we believe incremental investments should support midteens EPS growth," William Blair analysts said in a note.Amex had a large presence at the Money 20/20 conference with a key focus on Amex Corporate and agentic commerce, according to Williiam Blair analysts. "Ensuring Amex's products remain top-of-wallet and that its membership benefit programs remain discoverable in an agentic world are key priorities," the analysts said.