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AXP · FINANCE SERVICES · 8-K · Item 7.01 · Aug 17, 2026

The ugly write-off jump is mostly a June distortion, not fresh credit stress

In linepriced in
30-day delinquencies unchanged; July write-offs below May after June sale distortion
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO (AXP) — AllSight decodes this SEC 8-K in plain English, versus what the market expected.

This is a routine monthly credit update, not a new earnings signal. The filing provides July delinquency and write-off data, but no published consensus benchmark; the relevant baseline is the recent May–June trend and the market’s expectation that monthly credit metrics remain broadly stable.

MetricMay 2026June 2026July 2026
U.S. Consumer 30+ days past due1.1% (U.S. Consumer Card balances)1.1% (U.S. Consumer Card balances)1.1% (U.S. Consumer Card balances)
U.S. Consumer net write-off rate2.0% (U.S. Consumer Card balances)1.4% (U.S. Consumer Card balances)1.7% (U.S. Consumer Card balances)
U.S. Small Business 30+ days past due1.4% (U.S. Small Business Card balances)1.4% (U.S. Small Business Card balances)1.3% (U.S. Small Business Card balances)
U.S. Small Business net write-off rate2.6% (U.S. Small Business Card balances)2.3% (U.S. Small Business Card balances)2.6% (U.S. Small Business Card balances)
Total card balances held for investment$160.5B (Financial table)$159.7B (Financial table)$159.2B (Financial table)

Delinquencies were the clearest stable read. U.S. Consumer 30-day delinquencies held at 1.1%, while Small Business improved slightly to 1.3% from 1.4% in June (U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business Card balances). That does not indicate a fresh deterioration in payment behavior.

The July write-off increases are less alarming than the headline suggests. Consumer net write-offs rose to 1.7% from June’s 1.4%, and Small Business rose to 2.6% from 2.3%; however, both June figures were artificially reduced by the sale of previously written-off balances. The filing says the sale lowered June’s reported rates by approximately 0.3 percentage points for Consumer and 0.1 points for Small Business. 〔0〕

Against the cleaner recent comparison, credit costs were not worsening. July’s Consumer write-off rate of 1.7% remained below May’s 2.0%, while Small Business returned to May’s 2.6%. That makes July look more like normalization after a one-off June benefit than a new acceleration in losses.

Net read: in line, with stable credit quality but modestly lower balances. Total U.S. Consumer and Small Business card balances declined to $159.2 billion from $159.7 billion in June and $160.5 billion in May (Financial table). The filing therefore adds little new information: delinquencies are steady, write-offs are explainable, and portfolio balances are edging down rather than expanding.

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