American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) reported “record new wins” among small and midsized (SME) clients on a second quarter earnings call. Paul Abbott, CEO, said that SME transactions increased 15% year over year, with half of that growth driven by net new wins and share gains.
Over the previous 12 months, SME wins have totaled $2.3 billion in annual business, with about 30% of that coming from customers who previously had unmanaged travel programs, said Abbott. The segment, he said, remains Amex GBT’s “biggest growth opportunity.”
The company reported total transaction growth of 12% year over year in the quarter, resulting in a 23% year-over-year increase in travel revenue to a total of $91 million. That growth was part of an increase of 22% year over year in overall revenue to $106 million. Meeting demand helped increase revenue from the product and professional services sector by 16% year over year to $15 million.
Transactions at global multinational clients increased 8% year over year in the second quarter, said Abbott. “We continue to gain share in the global multinational segment with major wins across sectors, including a leading media and entertainment company, one of the world’s largest global financial services firms and one of the world’s leading mining companies,” he said.
Transaction growth increased by double-digit percentages across all regions in the quarter, with the highest increase in the Asia/Pacific region, up 23%. Transactions in the Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa were both up 11%, the company reported.
Amex GBT reported a net loss of $55 million for the second quarter, compared with a net loss of $2 million in the second quarter of 2022.