NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — American Express Co. (AXP) on Friday reported first-quarter profit of $2.44 billion.

The New York-based company said it had net income of $3.33 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.97 per share.

The credit card issuer and global payments company posted revenue of $15.8 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Twelve analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $15.76 billion.

American Express shares have risen 16% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has increased 5%. The stock has increased 32% in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AXP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AXP