Travel and entertainment (T&E) spending by card company American Express’ international corporate customers increased by 19 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 as spending outside the US picked up pace.
Amex said that T&E globally, including both corporate and consumer spending, rose by 14 per cent year-on-year in Q2, with total international T&E up by 23 per cent to $25 billion over this period.
The higher rate of increase in international corporate and SME expenditure compares with just a 2 per cent year-on-year increase in spending for both US-based SMEs and large corporates during Q2.
Amex chairman and CEO Stephen Squeri said in an earnings call that international spending had “come back even a little quicker than we had thought within our three-year horizon”.
International SME and large corporate spending accounts for 7 per cent of Amex's overall business, while large corporate businesses in the US represent 5 per cent of all sales and US-based SMEs make up 25 per cent of total volumes.
Squeri said that large US corporate business was “crawling its way back” as companies continue to work to bring employees back to the office.
“What you're seeing a little bit less of is those one-stop trips, that quick hop to London to meet with one client or that quick sort of run across the country to have an internal meeting,” added Squeri.
“I think that will continue to come back. We continue to be aggressive at retaining those customers and aggressive acquiring new customers, but I think that's going to be slower.”
Total network volume for Amex increased 8 per cent year-on-year to $426.6 billion in Q2, which was a record high for the company. Amex reported net profit of $2.17 billion for the quarter, up by 11 per cent on Q2 of 2022.