American Express reported its strongest spending growth in three years during the second quarter of 2026, with corporate travel continuing to perform well despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Speaking during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Chairman and CEO Stephen Squeri said total spending across the American Express network reached its highest growth rate in three years.

Business Travel Spending Accelerates

Travel and entertainment (T&E) spending by U.S. commercial customers increased 8% year over year during the quarter, accelerating from 6% growth recorded in the first quarter. Spending on goods and services rose 4%.

Total spending by both large global corporations and small and midsized businesses increased 5% compared with the same period last year.

Among international commercial customers, combined spending on travel, entertainment, goods and services grew 12% year over year.

Consumer Travel Demand Remains Strong

Overall billed business across American Express increased 9%, the highest growth rate the company has reported in the past three years.

U.S. consumer travel and entertainment spending remained particularly robust, rising 13% year over year during the second quarter.

Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec said geopolitical tensions have had only a limited impact on global travel demand.

“Travel to the Middle East or through the Middle East you see an impact, as you would expect, but travel globally is up 10%, and this is the highest number we’ve seen in the last six quarters,” Le Caillec said. “There are some impacts, but there’s not evidence of a general slowdown.”

Airlines and Restaurants Lead Spending Growth

Among travel-related categories, spending at restaurants and airlines each increased 10% during the quarter, while lodging spending rose 5%.

American Express also reported second-quarter net income of $3.1 billion, reflecting continued strength in consumer and commercial spending across its global payments network.