American Express plans ~5% workforce cut and posts revenue miss alongside Q3 profit beat; shares fall 3.7% (Oct 23)
What happened
American Express disclosed plans to cut roughly 5% of its workforce alongside its third-quarter report, a notable cost-reduction move for a Dow component. The company posted a 31% increase in Q3 profit and raised the lower end of its 2026 earnings guidance (now adjusted EPS of $17.60-$17.90 versus $17.30-$17.90 previously), but quarterly revenue slightly missed expectations: total network volume of $517.9 billion came in below the $519.5 billion consensus, with year-over-year growth decelerating to 8% from 9% in the prior quarter. The beat was flattered by a lower-than-expected provision for credit losses ($985 million versus a $1.31 billion estimate). Shares fell 3.7% on Friday, the steepest decline among Dow components.
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Who’s affected
- American Express (AXP) — revenue miss, decelerating network-volume growth, and ~5% headcount reduction; shares fell 3.7% Friday, pacing Dow decliners. U.S. card networks and large banks (JPMorgan, Bank of America, Capital One, Synchrony) — the cut signals cost discipline as even resilient lenders trim, and slowing network volume is a read-across for payments growth. Regional banks (e.g., Flagstar, which sold off on weak results) — the sector faced yield-driven pressure Friday regardless.