Dive Brief:

• American Express plans to increase spending on marketing and technology in the second half of the year, with an aim to attract more card holders and lead them to increased spending, according to a second-quarter earnings report Friday.
• “We have a large backlog of technology projects, and so we're getting to more things quicker,” CEO Steve Squeri said on an earnings webcast. The company didn’t say how much it would increase tech spending.
• Amex will raise marketing expenses by 10% for the second half of the year relative to 2025, Amex Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec said during the call. That’s compared to a 6% year-over-year boost in the second quarter, according to its Q2 2026 Earnings Presentation to investors and analysts. 

Dive Insight:

New York-based Amex is increasing its spending as it looks to keep building its card member clientele, despite some challenges on the commercial card front. In the second-quarter, the company attracted 3 million more card members, down slightly from the 3.1 million it added in the first quarter of this year and in the year-ago quarter.

The credit card company, which also operates a bank, is focused on attracting a new generation of consumers to its services, with 65% of the newly acquired card holders during the quarter being millennial or Gen Z customers. Overall, about 60% of all accounts are held by consumers in those age groups as of the second quarter.

Squeri characterized the company’s clientele as a “premium, fee-paying customer base with strong loyalty, less credit risk, including when it's under stress, and more younger customers.”

About three-quarters of its account balances were held by U.S. customers, as of the second quarter, with Squeri noting the company has targeted Mexico, Japan, Canada, Australia and the U.K. for growth.

To bolster its growth, American Express has invested heavily in marketing by way of high-profile brands, such as the National Football League, Formula One car racing event, the Wimbledon tennis tournament and the online fan gear outfitter Fanatics to be in the public eye and deliver special access to the events for card holders.

“What we're trying to do there is package up a group of experiences that are that our card members really like,” Squeri said on the call.

Serving up those experiences is also part of why the company has bought three restaurant reservation companies in recent years, with this year’s $700 million purchase of TheFork for reach into Europe still pending.

While the company didn’t detail how it will increase marketing, presumably it’s more of the same types of sponsorships and investments in providing experiences to card holders as well as loyalty program rewards.

“It's not a stagnant business, and it's not a business that you don't need to put gas in the tank,” Squeri said.

Amex’s second-quarter net income rose 8% to $3.11 billion as revenue, excluding interest expense, increased 10% to $19.6 billion.

Despite gains with consumer cards, the company has faced some headwinds with respect to adding commercial cards, particularly with midsize businesses. While U.S. consumer card network volume grew 11% for the quarter, U.S. commercial volume rose 5%, while international overall was up 12%, according to the presentation.

The slower commercial increase reflects competition in the U.S. for smaller and midsize card business, with companies like Brex, acquired by Capital One this year for $5 billion, as well as Ramp and Marqeta eating into the market share.

“It's middle market where we have seen the softness,” Squeri said. “Small business has been very strong, and large and global and corporate, has has been moving along I believe very nicely.”

To increase its ability to retain commercial customers, Amex launched a new expense management system for midsize businesses last month.

“We continue to believe the SME business has yet to reach an inflection point but are encouraged by internal efforts to drive the business,” William Blair analysts said in a Friday note to investor clients. 

As for technology spending, the company has an extensive list of needs for updating its systems, the CEO said, noting that it’s better to get those tasks done “sooner rather than later.”

“There is no shortage of technology investments or enhancements or refreshes that need to occur,” Squeri said on the call. “So, across a wide range of technology platforms, we're able to pull some of those investments into the second half of the year.”

The company slightly adjusted its revenue outlook for the full year, indicating it will be at the high end of its previous guidance for growth between 9% and 10%, but it didn’t change the outlook for profits.