AmEx Ties Resy to OpenAI as Q3 Revenue Hits a Record $20.1B

American Express reported record third-quarter revenue of $20.1 billion, up 9% from a year earlier, and raised its full-year earnings guidance, in its earnings release filed with the SEC on 23 October 2026. The same release lists its AI commerce work for the quarter: “The company announced Resy integrations, including with OpenAI, and released the Intent Intelligence framework for trusted agentic commerce.”

In plain words, Amex earns from the spending that runs over its cards, from card fees and from lending. Resy is its restaurant-booking platform, and agentic commerce means AI agents that shop or book on a customer’s behalf. Diluted earnings per share rose 31% to $5.42, a figure that includes a one-off gain from selling its stake in Global Business Travel Group; on the company’s adjusted basis, EPS rose 13% to $4.68.

Business Pill · AI AGENTS EXPLAINED

A short Business Engineer explainer on AI agents, from answering to doing. It teaches the general idea only and says nothing about American Express.

What American Express Reported

• Spending. Billed business, the spending on its cards, was $454.0 billion, up 8%, according to the release.
• Revenue. Total revenues net of interest expense were $20,062 million, up 9%. Net card fees were $2,969 million, up 16%, and the average fee per card rose to $136 from $119, according to the statistical tables.
• Profit. Pretax income was $4,531 million, up 18%, and net income was $3,712 million, up 28%. The effective tax rate was 18.1%, against 24.1% a year earlier, which the release attributes mainly to discrete tax benefits.
• The one-off gain. The release reports a $982 million pre-tax gain ($751 million after tax) from the previously announced sale of its equity interest in Global Business Travel Group (GBTG). Adjusted EPS excludes it, net of the portion used to fund restructuring related to efficiency initiatives.
• Credit. Provisions for credit losses were $1.0 billion against $1.3 billion a year ago, reflecting a reserve release this quarter against a reserve build a year earlier, and the net write-off rate was 1.8% against 1.9%.
• Costs. Expenses were $14.5 billion, up 9%, driven mainly by higher customer engagement costs from increased spending and the U.S. Platinum Card refresh, according to the release.

What Was Posted on X

Wall St Engine, a markets account on X, posted these American Express third-quarter highlights at 11:08 UTC on 23 October 2026, minutes after the release was filed with the SEC. The revenue, adjusted EPS and full-year estimates in the post are the poster’s, and the post does not name who compiled them. The figures in this piece are from the company’s own release.

The Numbers

Sources: American Express third-quarter 2026 earnings release and statistical tables (Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 to its Form 8-K), filed with the SEC on 23 October 2026. Changes are as reported by the company. Adjusted EPS excludes the gain on the GBTG sale, net of the portion used to fund restructuring.

Chairman and CEO Stephen J. Squeri said in the release: “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 added: “Our business momentum continues, with strength in billings, new acquisitions and Card Member retention, and excellent credit quality.”

The company raised its full-year EPS guidance to between $18.30 and $18.60, or $17.60 to $17.90 adjusted, and said it is “on track to deliver another year of 10 percent revenue growth.”

Against the Estimates in the Post

Sources: American Express release (reported column); Wall St Engine post on X, 23 October 2026 (estimate column; the post does not name who compiled the estimates). The gap column is our arithmetic.

The Wall St Engine post on X that flagged the results gave estimates of $20.12 billion for revenue and $4.48 for adjusted EPS. By our arithmetic, reported revenue of $20.06 billion was about 0.3% under the revenue estimate, and adjusted EPS of $4.68 was about 4.5% above the EPS estimate. The post put the full-year adjusted EPS estimate at $17.63, inside the company’s new range.

The Agentic Commerce Line

The Resy and Intent Intelligence line sits in the release’s list of quarterly highlights, next to the next generation of Amex Corporate with expense-management software, a Business Savings account, an extended Marriott partnership and an Airbnb partnership that brings over one million listings to Amex Travel.

In what we read, the release gives no revenue, booking or user figures for the Resy integrations, and does not say which OpenAI product they connect to. Its forward-looking statements list among the risks “the effects of technology changes and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)” and “changes in the competitive environment, including as a result of agentic technologies.”

Card acceptance reached more than 190 million merchant locations worldwide, according to the release, with acceptance outside the U.S. more than doubling over the past four years.

Connecting the Coverage

Our Intent Intelligence piece reported that American Express published the framework on 13 October 2026, setting out how it recommends capturing and authenticating a customer’s purchase intent before an AI agent completes a transaction, and that it is available through its Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) Developer Kit. What’s new: Amex now lists the framework among the quarter’s highlights in its earnings release.

Our bank-agents piece reported that major US banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents inside customer accounts, according to Axios, and that Morgan Stanley has begun blocking third-party agents while JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are also restricting them.

Our Universal Cart piece reported that Google is rolling out a cart across Search and the Gemini app in the US, built on the 60+ billion listings in its Shopping Graph, with checkout through Google Pay, according to Google’s post.

The Structural Read

As we read it, the fee line moved fastest among the revenue figures: net card fees rose 16% and the average fee per card rose to $136 from $119, while billed business rose 8% and proprietary cards-in-force 2%, according to the release and tables.

As we read it, the headline EPS and the adjusted EPS tell two different stories: diluted EPS of $5.42 includes the $982 million pre-tax GBTG gain, and the adjusted $4.68, up 13%, excludes it, net of the portion used to fund restructuring.

As we read it, the agentic item is a distribution line rather than a revenue line so far: the release names Resy integrations with OpenAI and a framework for trusted agentic commerce, and its risk list names agentic technologies as a source of competitive change.

Three Implications

FOR MERCHANTS AND RESTAURANTS American Express says it announced Resy integrations, including with OpenAI, and that card acceptance reached more than 190 million merchant locations worldwide.

FOR BANKS FACING AI AGENTS Our earlier reporting, citing Axios, said major US banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents in customer accounts; Amex’s Intent Intelligence framework sets out how to capture and authenticate a customer’s purchase intent before an agent completes a transaction.

FOR INVESTORS American Express raised its full-year EPS guidance to between $18.30 and $18.60, or $17.60 to $17.90 adjusted, and said it is on track for another year of 10 percent revenue growth.

The Business Engineer Lens

This story maps onto the Business Engineer framework The AI Embedding Business Model.

The framework argues: “Your product stops being the thing companies buy and becomes the thing other systems assume exists.”

As we read it, Resy integrations with OpenAI and a published intent framework are attempts by American Express to become something AI agents assume exists at checkout. The framework does not discuss American Express, and the release gives no figures for either item.

What Is Not Established

In what we read of the release, American Express does not give figures for the Resy integrations or the Intent Intelligence framework, and does not say how much of the quarter’s revenue, if any, came from agentic commerce. The estimates quoted here are those in the Wall St Engine post, which does not name their compiler. We read the release and statistical tables, not the earnings call transcript. We did not contact American Express. Nothing here is investment advice.

The Bottom Line

American Express reported record third-quarter revenue of $20.1 billion, up 9%, and diluted EPS of $5.42, or $4.68 adjusted, and raised its full-year EPS guidance. Its release lists Resy integrations, including with OpenAI, and the Intent Intelligence framework for agentic commerce among the quarter’s highlights, without figures for either.