CLAIM #8672 · American Express Company (AXP) · 2026Q1 earnings call · Apr 23, 2026
“This being said, the impact is not that large. And I don't think that it is something that you should worry too much about... definitely I don't think this is something that should create an impact to our overall billing trends.”
Christophe Le Caillec · CFO
How to check this claim
Look at: Total company billed business growth rate (year-over-year), as reported quarterly
It came true if: Q2 2026 billings growth rate remains within normal range of recent trend (no material deceleration attributable to airline refund/booking noise, i.e., sequential growth trend not disrupted by more than ~1-2 percentage points versus prior quarter's pace)
Where: AXP quarterly earnings release / 10-Q, billed business metrics
Knowable after: 2026-07-31
In context
“s it material enough that -- it doesn't sound like it, but that it could deter some of the upside? And then I'm just wondering, is there any other impacts that you've seen across the spending cohorts as a result of the higher fuel prices? And then I guess offsetting that is the momentum you have in platinum. So I'm just trying to think about the interplay between these 2 factors? Christophe Le Caillec: So on airline softness, I mean, yes, we saw definitely noise towards the end of March, beginning of April. And where it was the most visible is in the volume of refunds that were still being processed. It's always hard to know exactly what happened with these refunds is that people booking on a different schedule, different airline, but we definitely saw a spike in terms of customer reform. This being said, the impact is not that large. And I don't think that it is something that you should worry too much about. I'll take advantage of that to mention as well that this is where our assets, both in terms of TLS or the benefits we offer in airports really were valuable to our card members. We were able to rebook I think, something like 18,000 of our customers who have tickets to the Middle East and we also saw a spike in terms of engagement with our partner, clearer at the airport. So definitely, I don't think this is something that should create an impact to our overall billing trends. In terms of fuel, yes. I mean we saw the average ticket price go up, and we definitely saw an increase in terms of the fuel spend. Now fuel is less than 2% of the overall bill business. So the impact is just not very visible on the overall bill business, and it's really, really hard as well to see if there is any offset anywhere. And when we study that at the different product levels, cohort levels, geography, we don't”
Verify independently
SEC filings for AXP ↗ · Quote is verbatim from the 2026Q1 earnings call.