(Updated - January 26, 2021 7:12 AM EST)

American Express (NYSE: AXP) reported Q4 EPS of $1.76, $0.47 better than the analyst estimate of $1.29. Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.35 billion versus the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion.

“While we are still seeing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, trends continued to steadily improve in the fourth quarter,” said Stephen J. Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Card Member spending has continued to recover, and non-travel and entertainment spend exceeded pre-COVID levels for the second consecutive quarter. We continued to expand our merchant network, as we sustained virtual parity coverage in the United States and added more than 3.7 million merchants internationally in 2020. Our disciplined approach to risk management enabled us to maintain our best-in-class credit performance, with fourth-quarter delinquencies and write-off rates at some of the lowest levels we’ve seen in a few years.

“Our progress in managing through the pandemic over the last year confirms the strength of our differentiated business model, which includes a loyal and diverse customer base, a valued brand, our global merchant network, and our integrated payments network. All of this, supported by our resilient colleagues around the world, provides us with a solid foundation as we move into 2021, which we see as a transition year. We will still be managing through the effects of the pandemic, but with an increased focus on maximizing investments in areas that will enable us to rebuild growth momentum. These investments include continuing to enhance value propositions and refreshing premium products in our card businesses; scaling cash flow and supplier payment solutions in our commercial business; continuing to increase merchant coverage globally; and investing heavily in new and expanded digital capabilities across our businesses.

“Today, my confidence in our growth potential over the medium and long term is strong. While we remain cautious about the pace of recovery, we are focused on achieving our aspiration of being back to the original EPS expectations we had for 2020 in 2022, and for the company to be positioned to execute on its financial growth algorithm.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on American Express (AXP) click here.