New York, Feb 17, 2026, 18:32 EST — After-hours
American Express (AXP) shares rose 2.1% to $344.53 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, after oscillating between $337.00 and $346.51 during the regular session. Trading volume stood at about 3.2 million shares.
The move followed a monthly filing that investors use as a quick read on credit quality at the card lender. Charge-offs — loans written off as uncollectible — and past-due balances can shift fast when consumers start to strain.
Traders were also coming back from Monday’s U.S. market holiday, compressing the week’s data and resetting positions for the first full session after Washington’s Birthday. (New York Stock Exchange)
In a Form 8-K filed Tuesday, AmEx said U.S. consumer card loans held for investment totaled $97.2 billion as of Jan. 31, down from $100.2 billion at end-December, while 30-day delinquencies held at 1.4%. The consumer net write-off rate — an annualized measure based on principal only — eased to 1.9% from 2.1% in December; small-business delinquencies were 1.7% and the net write-off rate ticked up to 2.8%. The company said the monthly ratios can vary with seasonality, holidays and other timing effects. (SEC)
The pullback in outstanding U.S. consumer balances will be watched for what it says about repayment and loan growth after the holiday season. The easing in write-offs, at least for January, helps take some heat out of the credit-loss debate around card issuers.
American Express was one of the bigger point drivers in the price-weighted Dow during the day. MarketWatch data showed American Express and Visa together accounted for about 91 points of the index’s move. (MarketWatch)
U.S. stocks ended slightly higher after a choppy session. The Dow closed at 49,533.19 and the S&P 500 finished at 6,843.22, while the Nasdaq ended at 22,578.38, according to the Associated Press. (AP News)
But the credit story can change quickly if the economy cools more than expected. A sustained rise in delinquencies would push provisions higher and can pressure card-lender shares, even before it shows up in quarterly earnings.
Macro data may matter in the next sessions. Investors are watching for the Federal Reserve’s minutes and GDP data later this week for clues on the rate path, a key input for consumer borrowing costs. (Reuters)
American Express is scheduled to report first-quarter results on April 24, with a conference call set for 8:30 a.m. ET, the company said. That is the next major checkpoint for AXP investors on spending trends and credit costs. (Americanexpress)
