American Express raised its full-year profit forecast on Friday after third-quarter revenue rose 9% to $20.1 billion on higher card spending. The company now expects 2026 earnings per share (net profit per outstanding share) of $18.30 to $18.60, or $17.60 to $17.90 on an adjusted basis. The prior forecast stood at $17.30 to $17.90.

The lender also reaffirmed its target of 10% revenue growth for the year. The stock rose 0.8% in premarket trading Friday.

How strong were the third-quarter numbers?

Net income reached $3.7 billion, up from $2.9 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 31% to $5.42. Adjusted earnings per share climbed 13% to $4.68.

The gap between the two figures stems from a $982 million pretax gain, or $751 million after tax, from the sale of the company's equity interest in Global Business Travel Group, net of the portion of the gain used to fund restructuring. Excluding that one-off item, adjusted results still beat analyst expectations of $4.48 a share, according to The Wall Street Journal. Revenue of $20.1 billion came in essentially in line with the consensus estimate of $20.12 billion.

Billed business, the metric tracking how much customers charge to American Express cards, rose 8% to $454.0 billion. The company attributed the revenue increase to three drivers:

• Card Members spending more on their accounts
• Net interest income (revenue from lending minus deposit costs) that grew alongside card balances
• Increased card fees

Affluent customers drove the spending through travel, dining and shopping purchases.

What did credit quality and taxes contribute?

Provisions for credit losses fell to $1.0 billion from $1.3 billion a year earlier. The decline reflects a reserve release this quarter, compared with a reserve build in the prior-year period. The net write-off rate, which measures loans deemed uncollectible, was 1.8%, down from 1.9%.

The effective tax rate dropped to 18.1% from 24.1%. The company attributed the fall mainly to discrete tax benefits tied to the resolution of certain prior-period tax items.

What did the CEO say?

CEO Stephen Squeri said: "We had another strong quarter, delivering 9 percent revenue growth and EPS of $5.42, or $4.68 adjusted, up 13 percent year-over-year." He cited solid billings, the addition of new customers, Card Member retention and sound credit quality as the foundations of the result.

Where does the excluded gain come from?

The gain traces to a deal announced in May, when Long Lake Management agreed to acquire the corporate travel company in a $6.3 billion all-cash transaction. American Express held about 30% of Amex Global Business Travel Group and was its largest single shareholder.

At the time of the announcement, the sale was expected to generate $1.5 billion in cash and a $975 million pretax gain for American Express. The final booked gain, $982 million pretax, slightly exceeded that initial estimate.

The company hosted an investor call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday to discuss the results.