Worries Underlie American Express Beat

American Express (AXP Quote) surged past analysts' third-quarter estimates Monday, despite the credit card company's profit falling by nearly 25% as the economy takes its toll on even wealthy consumers.

For the three months ending Sept. 30, American Express made $815 million, or 70 cents a share, vs. $1.06 billion, or 90 cents a share in the third quarter of last year. Net income from continuing operations, which excludes its soon-to-be-sold American Express International Deposit Co., fell 23% to $861 million, or 74 cents a share, the company said.

Total revenue inched up just 2% to $6.25 billion in the quarter. ...