- American Express (NYSE:AXP) is lower by 3.3% after the company last night said it would eliminate 4K jobs (about 6% of the U.S. workforce). The company has been able to meet or beat bottom-line earnings estimates by controlling expenses, but has been falling short of its long-term revenue growth target of 8%.
- "Headwinds present a challenging environment for American Express," says Jefferies' John Hecht, noting the discount rate - what AmEx collects on each transactions from merchants - edged lower in Q4.
- As for costs last quarter, they rose 6% when adjusted for forex impacts, and though layoff announcements have neared 12K over the past two years, the overall headcount has remained relatively steady at between 61K and 63.5K since 2010.
- Previously: AmEx beats, reportedly planning thousands of job cuts (Jan. 21)