e*******e
发帖数: 9616 | 1 By SAABIRA CHAUDHURI
Updated Jan. 21, 2015 9:00 p.m. ET
8 COMMENTS
American Express Co. said it would eliminate 4,000 jobs later this year, but
the company’s cost cutting isn’t moving fast enough for some investors.
The New York credit-card firm is struggling to meet revenue targets in a
competitive environment, and an uptick in the company’s expenses in the
fourth quarter worried some that a crucial advantage for the company in
recent years may be fading.
AmEx of late has been falling short of its longtime revenue-growth target of
8%, but the company has been able to meet earnings expectations, in part by
controlling expenses.
On Wednesday, Amex shares fell about 2% in after-hours trading as the
company disclosed a 3% increase in its expenses as part of its quarterly
earnings report. Amex’s revenue and profit increased, but not enough to
satisfy investors who have grown increasingly demanding of the company’s
results as the economy grows, consumers repair their balance sheets and more
people switch from using cash or checks to plastic.
For Amex’s fourth quarter, a stronger dollar, a weak December for retail
sales and the sharp drop in gas prices also took a toll on the company’s
results.
Advertisement
Various “headwinds present a challenging environment for American Express,
” wrote Jefferies analyst John Hecht in a note following the company’s
report. Mr. Hecht mentioned that the so-called discount rate, which AmEx
collects on each transaction from merchants, edged lower in the quarter,
evidence of the short-term costs associated with the company’s attempts at
expansion.
The layoffs disclosed Wednesday, affecting about 6% of American Express’s
63,000 workforce, are part of a broader restructuring to boost efficiency,
company officials said on a conference call to discuss the results.
The New York-based credit-card company, run by Chairman and Chief Executive
Kenneth Chenault, reported an 11% rise in quarterly profit after the close.
Fourth-quarter profit was $1.45 billion, or $1.39 a share, compared with $1.
31 billion, or $1.21 a share, a year earlier. Revenue, net of interest
expense, rose 6.6% to $9.11 billion from $8.55 billion a year earlier,
helped by a gain on the sale of American Express’s investment in Concur
Technologies, an expense-management software company.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of $1.38 a share on
revenue of $8.53 billion.
While some analysts had expected AmEx to show strong expense controls, the
company reported that companywide expenses came in at $6.3 billion, up 3%,
or 6% when adjusted for foreign-exchange impacts, from a year earlier.
Another sign that the company hasn’t cut sharply enough for some investors:
Despite layoff announcements that approach 12,000 positions over the last
two years, Amex’s overall headcount has remained relatively steady between
61,000 and 63,500 since 2010, according to the firm’s annual reports.
Amex said that it had used a big part of the gain on its Concur sale on
restructuring initiatives. That may lead to cost savings later, but in the
fourth quarter, it led to a pretax charge of $313 million.
“A substantial gain allowed us to accelerate some critical initiatives: re-
engineering to make American Express more efficient,” said Mr. Chenault in
prepared remarks.
American Express also spent more during the period on marketing and
promotion and renewing its partnership with Delta Air Lines. The company is
revving up partnerships with merchants, from Apple Inc. to McDonald’s Corp.
to Uber to promote mobile payments and its rewards programs.
RELATED COVERAGE
Discover Financial Posts Higher Income
5 Things to Watch in American Express Earnings
American Express Checks Its Balance (Jan. 20)
The company, which issues credit and charge cards and owns a processing
network, said card-member spending rose 6%, while U.S. loan balances
increased 7%. The provision for loans that could sour came in at $582
million, up 22% from a year ago.
While officials described the consumer-credit environment as strong, the
company suffered from lower spending on gasoline purchases and the
strengthening of the dollar.
“We’ve made very good progress against the backdrop of an uneven global
economy and the negative impact of a strengthening U.S. dollar,” said Mr.
Chenault on Wednesday, even as he cautioned that the company faces “
competitive and regulatory challenges.”
Also Wednesday, Discover Financial Services posted a 7% increase in fourth-
quarter net interest income, but revenue declined and earnings fell below
analysts’ estimates due in part to changes in the company’s customer-
rewards program.
Discover reported a profit of $404 million, down 33% from $602 million a
year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were 87 cents, down from $1.23.
Earnings excluding items were $553 million, or $1.19 a share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of $1.30 a share
on revenue of $2.2 billion. These estimates generally exclude nonrecurring
items.
Shares fell about 3% in after-hours trading.
Revenue, net of interest expenses, fell 4% to $2.04 billion from $2.13
billion a year ago, reflecting a charge related to a simplification of the
company’s Cashback Rewards program. The total fell short of the $2.2
billion analysts expected, on average.
The change involves the elimination of Discover’s credit-card rewards
forfeiture reserve and will make rewards easier for customers to redeem.
Overall, the company said in November it would post about $178 million of
fourth-quarter charges related to the change.
“We think the changes will be beneficial for our company and have been
receiving favorable feedback from our card members,” said Chief Executive
David Nelms.
—Robin Sidel and Daniel Huang contributed to this article.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at [email protected]
/* */ | o*****g
发帖数: 3936 | 2 真惨，跌了12%。地主家的余粮不多了。
but
of
【在 e*******e 的大作中提到】
: By SAABIRA CHAUDHURI
: Updated Jan. 21, 2015 9:00 p.m. ET
: 8 COMMENTS
: American Express Co. said it would eliminate 4,000 jobs later this year, but
: the company’s cost cutting isn’t moving fast enough for some investors.
: The New York credit-card firm is struggling to meet revenue targets in a
: competitive environment, and an uptick in the company’s expenses in the
: fourth quarter worried some that a crucial advantage for the company in
: recent years may be fading.
: AmEx of late has been falling short of its longtime revenue-growth target of
| u***n
发帖数: 21026 | 3 主要是失去了Costco这个大户
[在 eightmile (红脖子的言行liberal的心) 的大作中提到：]
：By SAABIRA CHAUDHURI
：Updated Jan. 21, 2015 9:00 p.m. ET
：........... | p***r
发帖数: 4702 | 4 好人命不长
【在 u***n 的大作中提到】
: 主要是失去了Costco这个大户
: [在 eightmile (红脖子的言行liberal的心) 的大作中提到：]
: ：By SAABIRA CHAUDHURI
: ：Updated Jan. 21, 2015 9:00 p.m. ET
: ：...........
| a******e
发帖数: 1324 | 5 要挺住啊
but
of
【在 e*******e 的大作中提到】
: By SAABIRA CHAUDHURI
: Updated Jan. 21, 2015 9:00 p.m. ET
: 8 COMMENTS
: American Express Co. said it would eliminate 4,000 jobs later this year, but
: the company’s cost cutting isn’t moving fast enough for some investors.
: The New York credit-card firm is struggling to meet revenue targets in a
: competitive environment, and an uptick in the company’s expenses in the
: fourth quarter worried some that a crucial advantage for the company in
: recent years may be fading.
: AmEx of late has been falling short of its longtime revenue-growth target of
| r****b
发帖数: 1087 | 6 是不是抄了很多阿三？
giftcard balance 网站 down 了几乎一个星期了 | v***s
发帖数: 180 | |
|
