Citi Strata Elite Card Review 2025
The Strata Elite card leans heavily on bookings through its CitiTravel.com portal with high multipliers on select travel categories, but this restricts flexibility and value. The weekend-only dining bonus is also more limited. Overall, the Strata Elite suits Citi loyalists or weekend diners but falls short of the broad premium perks that make the Sapphire Reserve a top travel card. Citi Strata Elite℠ Card vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card stands out for its simplicity and flat-rate rewards. With a base earnings rate of 2X miles, lounge access with enrollment and 10,000 bonus miles every card anniversary (worth at least $100 toward travel), it delivers reliable value without requiring you to track spending windows.
The Citi Strata Elite earns higher rates in certain niches, but it requires more of the cardholder. If you're looking for a premium travel card that's straightforward and hands-off, the Venture X is likely the better fit. Citi Strata Elite℠ Card vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply, rates & fees) focuses heavily on luxury and elite travel experiences, offering access to high-end lounges, hotel status, flight perks and hundreds of dollars in annual travel and lifestyle statement credits. It's designed for frequent travelers who want premium treatment and don't mind navigating hoops.
The Citi Strata Elite doesn't offer nearly as many elite perks and prestige, making the Amex Platinum a better fit if luxury is your priority.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
American Express Global Business Travel Reports Q2 Results Ahead of Expectations; Confidence to Raise and Narrow Full-Year 2025 Guidance
NEW YORK, August 05, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Express Global Business Travel, which is operated by Global Business Travel Group, Inc. (NYSE: GBTG) ("Amex GBT" or the "Company"), a leading software and services company for travel, expense, and meetings & events, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025. Second Quarter 2025 Highlights Delivered Financial Results Ahead of Expectations Revenue grew 1% year over year to $631 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew 4% year over year to $133 million, and exceeded $500 million over the last twelve months. Free Cash Flow generation of $27 million. Significant Margin Expansion and Efficiency Gains Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 70 bps year over year to 21%. Flat Adjusted Operating Expenses, with efficiency gains. Continued Share Gains and Strong Customer Retention LTM Total New Wins Value of $3.2 billion, including $2.2 billion from SME. 95% LTM customer retention rate. Raised and Narrowed Full-Year 2025 Guidance Revenue growth guidance of 2% to 4%, up +3pts vs. previous midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $505 million to $540 million, representing growth of 6% to 13%. Free Cash Flow guidance of $140 million to $160 million. CWT Acquisition Now Expected to Close in Q3 2025 United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") has dismissed its litigation on the CWT acquisition. Transaction now expected to close in Q3 2025, subject to the satisfaction of remaining closing conditions. Paul Abbott, Amex GBT's Chief Executive Officer, stated: "In the second quarter, we again delivered on our commitments. We delivered quarterly results ahead of expectations, raised our full-year guidance, reached a significant milestone on CWT and can now accelerate share repurchases to underscore our confidence in the business. We look forward to welcoming CWT customers and employees to Amex GBT in the third quarter and are incredibly excited about the growth prospects for the combined company." Karen Williams, Amex GBT's Chief Financial Officer, stated: "We continued to execute on what is in our control in Q2, driving Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 70 basis points year over year to reach 21%, while continuing to invest in attractive opportunities for long-term growth. I am very pleased to raise and narrow our full-year 2025 guidance to reflect our confidence in the momentum we are seeing. We are ready to integrate CWT after the expected close in the third quarter, and our balance sheet will maintain flexibility to pursue our capital allocation priorities, accelerate share repurchases and maximize shareholder value." Second Quarter 2025 Financial Summary Three Months EndedJune 30, YOY INC / (Dec) (in millions, except percentages; unaudited) 2025 2024 Total Transaction Value (TTV) $ 7,891 $ 7,724 2% Transaction Growth —% 4% WDA Transaction Growth1 1% Revenue $ 631 $ 625 1% Travel Revenue $ 507 $ 506 —% Product and Professional Services Revenue $ 124 $ 119 4% Total operating expenses $ 597 $ 583 2% Adjusted Operating Expenses $ 500 $ 498 —% Operating income $ 34 $ 42 (21)% Net income $ 15 $ 27 (48)% Net income margin 2% 4% (210 bps) EBITDA $ 100 $ 79 24% Adjusted EBITDA $ 133 $ 127 4% Adjusted EBITDA Margin 21% 20% 70 bps Net cash from operating activities $ 57 $ 73 (23)% Free Cash Flow $ 27 $ 49 (45)% Net Debt $ 780 $ 850 Net Debt / LTM Adjusted EBITDA2 1.6x 2.0x 1WDA = Workday Adjusted. There were 62.2 average workdays in Q2 2025 compared to 62.6 average workdays in Q2 2024; percentages are adjusted to reflect growth metrics assuming 62.2 workdays in each period. 2Leverage ratio is calculated as Net Debt / LTM Adjusted EBITDA and is different than leverage ratio defined in our senior secured credit agreement. Second Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights(Changes compared to prior year period unless otherwise noted) Revenue of $631 million increased $6 million, or 1%. Within this, Travel Revenue increased $1 million, in line with expectations, and Product and Professional Services Revenue increased $5 million, or 4%. The increase in total revenue was primarily due to increased Product and Professional Services Revenue and favorable foreign exchange impact, partially offset by a modest decline in Yield driven by the continued shift to digital transactions and fixed elements of revenue. On a constant currency basis, revenue was largely flat year over year. Total operating expenses of $597 million increased $14 million, or 2%, primarily due to restructuring charges related to cost savings initiatives, which are expected to be a future benefit to the Company. Increased sales and marketing and technology and content costs were largely offset by decreased cost of revenue (excluding depreciation and amortization), general and administrative expenses and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted Operating Expenses increased marginally by $2 million to $500 million. Operating income of $34 million decreased $8 million, or 21%, driven by higher operating expenses primarily due to restructuring charges, partially offset by higher revenue as discussed above. Net income of $15 million decreased $12 million, or 48%, primarily due to the decline in operating income as discussed above, unfavorable foreign exchange impact and higher income taxes, partially offset by favorable fair value movements on earnout derivative liabilities and lower interest expense. Adjusted EBITDA of $133 million increased $6 million, or 4%. Revenue growth and operating leverage resulted in Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 70 bps to 21%. Net cash from operating activities totaled $57 million, a decrease of $16 million, or 23%, primarily due to comparison versus one-time elements of the Egencia working capital benefits in the prior year and higher cash taxes, partially offset by lower interest payments. Free Cash Flow totaled $27 million, a decrease of $22 million, or 45%, primarily due to lower net cash from operating activities as discussed above and increased investments in purchase of property and equipment. Net Debt: As of June 30, 2025, total debt, net of unamortized debt discount and debt issuance cost was $1,381 million, compared to $1,384 million as of December 31, 2024. Net Debt was $780 million as of June 30, 2025, compared to $848 million as of December 31, 2024. Leverage ratio was 1.6x as of June 30, 2025, down from 1.8x as of December 31, 2024. The cash balance was $601 million as of June 30, 2025, compared to $536 million as of December 31, 2024. Raised and Narrowed Full-Year 2025 Guidance The guidance below does not include the impact of CWT, which is expected to close in Q3 2025. FY 2025 Guidance Low Midpoint High Revenue $2.460B+2% YOY $2.488B+3% YOY $2.515B+4% YOY Adjusted EBITDA $505M+6% YOY $523M+9% YOY $540M+13% YOY Adjusted EBITDA Margin 20.5%+80bps YOY 21.0%+130bps YOY 21.5%+180bps YOY Free Cash Flow $140M $150M $160M Please refer to the section below titled "Reconciliation of Full-Year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance and Full-Year 2025 Free Cash Flow Guidance" for a description of certain assumptions and risks associated with this guidance and reconciliation to comparable measures under U.S. generally accepted accounting standards ("GAAP"). Webcast Information Amex GBT will host its second quarter 2025 investor conference call today at 9:00 a.m. E.T. The live webcast and accompanying slide presentation can be accessed on the Amex GBT Investor Relations website at A replay of the event will be available on the website for at least 90 days following the event. Glossary of Terms See the "Glossary of Terms" for the definitions of certain terms used within this press release. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company refers to certain financial measures that are not recognized under GAAP in this press release, including EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Operating Expenses, Free Cash Flow and Net Debt. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for an explanation of these non-GAAP financial measures and "Tabular Reconciliations for Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP measures. About American Express Global Business Travel American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is a leading software and services company for travel, expense, and meetings & events. We have built the most valuable marketplace in travel with the most comprehensive and competitive content. A choice of solutions brought to you through a strong combination of technology and people, delivering the best experiences, proven at scale. With travel professionals and business partners in more than 140 countries, our solutions deliver savings, flexibility, and service from a brand you can trust – Amex GBT. Visit for more information about Amex GBT. Follow @amexgbt on X, LinkedIn and Instagram. GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL GROUP, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) Three months endedJune 30, (in $ millions, except share and per share data) 2025 2024 Revenue $ 631 $ 625 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue (excluding depreciation and amortization shown separately below) 242 247 Sales and marketing 111 99 Technology and content 120 112 General and administrative 69 80 Restructuring and other exit charges 12 (3 ) Depreciation and amortization 43 48 Total operating expenses 597 583 Operating income 34 42 Interest income 2 2 Interest expense (23 ) (32 ) Fair value movement on earnout derivative liabilities 32 (10 ) Other loss, net (11 ) (1 ) Income before income taxes 34 1 (Provision for) benefit from income taxes (21 ) 26 Share of income from equity method investments 2 — Net income 15 27 Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interests in subsidiaries 2 1 Net income attributable to the Company's Class A common stockholders $ 13 $ 26 Basic income per share attributable to the Company's Class A common stockholders $ 0.03 $ 0.06 Weighted average number of shares outstanding - Basic 470,877,173 464,602,244 Diluted income per share attributable to the Company's Class A common stockholders $ 0.03 $ 0.06 Weighted average number of shares outstanding - Diluted 474,839,915 470,655,337 GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL GROUP, INC. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in $ millions, except share and per share data) June 30, 2025 December 31, 2024 (Unaudited) Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 601 $ 536 Accounts receivable (net of allowance for credit losses of $11 and $10 as of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively) 722 571 Due from affiliates 59 46 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 135 128 Total current assets 1,517 1,281 Property and equipment, net 238 232 Equity method investments 14 14 Goodwill 1,250 1,201 Other intangible assets, net 465 480 Operating lease right-of-use assets 55 59 Deferred tax assets 274 268 Other non-current assets 58 89 Total assets $ 3,871 $ 3,624 Liabilities and shareholders' equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 353 $ 263 Due to affiliates 16 22 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 512 461 Current portion of operating lease liabilities 15 15 Current portion of long-term debt 19 19 Total current liabilities 915 780 Long-term debt, net of unamortized debt discount and debt issuance costs 1,362 1,365 Deferred tax liabilities 37 36 Pension liabilities 163 156 Long-term operating lease liabilities 58 63 Earnout derivative liabilities 27 133 Other non-current liabilities 102 34 Total liabilities 2,664 2,567 Commitments and Contingencies Shareholders' equity: Class A common stock (par value $0.0001; 3,000,000,000 shares authorized; 487,125,014 and 478,904,677 shares issued, 478,920,838 and 470,904,677 shares outstanding as of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively) — — Additional paid-in capital 2,829 2,827 Accumulated deficit (1,487 ) (1,575 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (86 ) (146 ) Treasury shares, at cost (8,204,176 and 8,000,000 shares as of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively) (56 ) (55 ) Total equity of the Company's shareholders 1,200 1,051 Equity attributable to non-controlling interest in subsidiaries 7 6 Total shareholders' equity 1,207 1,057 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 3,871 $ 3,624 GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL GROUP, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) Six months ended June 30, (in $ millions) 2025 2024 Operating activities: Net income $ 90 $ 8 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 83 95 Deferred tax charge 10 12 Equity-based compensation 39 38 Allowance for credit losses 3 4 Loss on early extinguishment of debt 2 — Fair value movement on earnout derivative liabilities (106 ) (8 ) Other, net 18 (5 ) Changes in working capital: Accounts receivable (123 ) (10 ) Prepaid expenses and other current assets (3 ) (66 ) Due from affiliates (13 ) (10 ) Due to affiliates (6 ) 7 Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities 98 71 Defined benefit pension funding (13 ) (14 ) Proceeds from termination of interest rate swap contracts 31 — Net cash from operating activities 110 122 Investing activities: Purchase of property and equipment (57 ) (49 ) Proceeds from foreign exchange forward contracts 27 — Other — 5 Net cash used in investing activities (30 ) (44 ) Financing activities: Proceeds from senior secured term loans 99 — Repayment of senior secured term loans (106 ) (1 ) Repurchase of common shares (1 ) — Contributions for ESPP and proceeds from exercise of stock options 4 5 Payment of taxes withheld on vesting of equity awards (41 ) (19 ) Other (3 ) (2 ) Net cash used in financing activities (48 ) (17 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 25 (9 ) Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 57 52 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period 561 489 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period $ 618 $ 541 Supplemental cash flow information: Cash paid for income taxes, net $ 29 $ 1 Cash paid for interest (net of interest received) $ 50 $ 65 Non-cash additions for operating lease right-of-use assets $ 2 $ 7 Non-cash additions for finance lease $ 1 $ 2 Glossary of Terms Constant currency revenue is calculated by retranslating current and prior-period revenue amounts at a consistent exchange rate rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. A portion of the Company's revenue is derived from international operations. As a result, the Company's revenue has been and will continue to be affected by changes in the U.S. dollar against major international currencies. The Company refers to revenue growth rates on a constant currency basis so that the business results can be viewed without the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates to facilitate comparisons of the Company's revenue from one period to another. Customer retention rate is calculated based on Total Transaction Value (TTV). CWT refers to CWT Holdings, LLC. GMN refers to Global & Multinational Enterprises and SME refers to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. For organizational management purposes, Amex GBT divides the customer base into these two general categories, generally on the basis of annual TTV, although this measure can vary by country and by customer preference. Amex GBT offers all products and services to all sizes of customer, as customers of all sizes may prefer different solutions. LTM refers to the last twelve months ended June 30, 2025. Total New Wins Value is calculated using expected annual average Total Transaction Value (TTV) over the contract term from all new client wins over the last twelve months. Total Transaction Value or TTV refers to the sum of the total price paid by travelers for air, hotel, rail, car rental and cruise bookings, including taxes and other charges applied by suppliers at point of sale, less cancellations and refunds. Transaction Growth represents year-over-year increase or decrease as a percentage of the total transactions, including air, hotel, car rental, rail or other travel-related transactions, recorded at the time of booking, and is calculated on a net basis to exclude cancellations, refunds and exchanges. To calculate year-over-year growth or decline, we compare the total number of transactions in the comparative previous period/ year to the total number of transactions in the current period/year in percentage terms. Yield is calculated as total revenue divided by Total Transaction Value (TTV) for the same period. Non-GAAP Financial Measures We report our financial results in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial measures are provided in addition, and should not be considered as an alternative, to other performance or liquidity measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them either in isolation or as a substitute for analyzing our results as reported under GAAP. In addition, because not all companies use identical calculations, the presentations of our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies and can differ significantly from company to company. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide users of our financial information with useful supplemental information that enables a better comparison of our performance or liquidity across periods. In addition, we use certain of these non-GAAP financial measures as performance measures as they are important metrics used by management to evaluate and understand the underlying operations and business trends, forecast future results and determine future capital investment allocations. We also use certain of our non-GAAP financial measures as indicators of our ability to generate cash to meet our liquidity needs and to assist our management in evaluating our financial flexibility, capital structure and leverage. These non-GAAP financial measures supplement comparable GAAP measures in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our business strategies, to make budgeting decisions, and/or to compare our performance and liquidity against that of other peer companies using similar measures. We define EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest income, interest expense, gain (loss) on early extinguishment of debt, benefit from (provision for) income taxes and depreciation and amortization. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest income, interest expense, gain (loss) on early extinguishment of debt, benefit from (provision for) income taxes and depreciation and amortization and as further adjusted to exclude costs that management believes are non-core to the underlying business of the Company, consisting of restructuring, exit and related charges, integration costs, costs related to mergers and acquisitions, non-cash equity-based compensation and related employer taxes, long-term incentive plan costs, certain corporate costs, fair value movements on earnout derivative liabilities, foreign currency gains (losses), non-service components of net periodic pension benefit (costs) and gains (losses) on disposal of businesses. We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. We define Adjusted Operating Expenses as total operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortization and costs that management believes are non-core to the underlying business of the Company, consisting of restructuring, exit and related charges, integration costs, costs related to mergers and acquisitions, non-cash equity-based compensation and related employer taxes, long-term incentive plan costs and certain corporate costs. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Adjusted Operating Expenses are supplemental non-GAAP financial measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered as alternatives to revenue, net income (loss) or total operating expenses, as determined under GAAP. In addition, these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. These non-GAAP measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's results or expenses as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are that these measures do not reflect: changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs or contractual commitments; our interest expense, or the cash requirements to service interest or principal payments on our indebtedness; our tax expense, or the cash requirements to pay our taxes; recurring, non-cash expenses of depreciation and amortization of property and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets and, although these are non-cash expenses, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future; the non-cash expense of stock-based compensation, which has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, an important part of how we attract and retain our employees and a significant recurring expense in our business; restructuring, mergers and acquisition and integration costs, all of which are intrinsic of our acquisitive business model; impact on earnings or changes resulting from matters that are non-core to our underlying business, as we believe they are not indicative of our underlying operations; and impact of foreign exchange translation. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Adjusted Operating Expenses should not be considered as a measure of liquidity or as a measure determining discretionary cash available to us to reinvest in the growth of our business or as measures of cash that will be available to us to meet our obligations. We believe that the adjustments applied in presenting EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Adjusted Operating Expenses are appropriate to provide additional information to investors about certain material non-cash and other items that management believes are non-core to our underlying business. We use these measures as performance measures as they are important metrics used by management to evaluate and understand the underlying operations and business trends, forecast future results and determine future capital investment allocations. These non-GAAP measures supplement comparable GAAP measures in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our business strategies, to make budgeting decisions, and to compare our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures. We also believe that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Adjusted Operating Expenses are helpful supplemental measures to assist potential investors and analysts in evaluating our operating results across reporting periods on a consistent basis. We define Free Cash Flow as net cash from (used in) operating activities, less cash used for additions to property and equipment. We believe Free Cash Flow is an important measure of our liquidity. This measure is a useful indicator of our ability to generate cash to meet our liquidity demands. We use this measure to conduct and evaluate our operating liquidity. We believe it typically presents an alternate measure of cash flow since purchases of property and equipment are a necessary component of our ongoing operations and it provides useful information regarding how cash provided by operating activities compares to the property and equipment investments required to maintain and grow our platform. We believe Free Cash Flow provides investors with an understanding of how assets are performing and measures management's effectiveness in managing cash. Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP measure and may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. This measure has limitations in that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash balance for the period, nor does it represent cash flow for discretionary expenditures. This measure should not be considered as a measure of liquidity or cash flow from operations as determined under GAAP. This measure is not a measurement of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income (loss) or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. We define Net Debt as total debt outstanding consisting of the current and non-current portion of long-term debt, net of unamortized debt discount and unamortized debt issuance costs, minus cash and cash equivalents. Net Debt is a non-GAAP measure and may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. This measure is not a measurement of our indebtedness as determined under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to assess our total debt or any other measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as an alternative to total debt. Management uses Net Debt to review our overall liquidity, financial flexibility, capital structure and leverage. Further, we believe that certain debt rating agencies, creditors and credit analysts monitor our Net Debt as part of their assessment of our business. Tabular Reconciliations for Non-GAAP Measures Reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA: Three months ended June 30, (in $ millions) 2025 2024 Net income $ 15 $ 27 Interest income (2 ) (2 ) Interest expense 23 32 Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 21 (26 ) Depreciation and amortization 43 48 EBITDA 100 79 Restructuring, exit and related charges (a) 13 (3 ) Integration costs (b) 3 7 Mergers and acquisitions (c) 18 6 Equity-based compensation and related employer taxes (d) 20 20 Fair value movement on earnout derivative liabilities (e) (32 ) 10 Other adjustments, net (f) 11 8 Adjusted EBITDA $ 133 $ 127 Net income Margin 2% 4% Adjusted EBITDA Margin 21% 20% Reconciliation of total operating expenses to Adjusted Operating Expenses: Three months ended June 30, (in $ millions) 2025 2024 Total operating expenses $ 597 $ 583 Adjustments: Depreciation and amortization (43 ) (48 ) Restructuring, exit and related charges (a) (13 ) 3 Integration costs (b) (3 ) (7 ) Mergers and acquisitions (c) (18 ) (6 ) Equity-based compensation and related employer taxes (d) (20 ) (20 ) Other adjustments, net (f) — (7 ) Adjusted Operating Expenses $ 500 $ 498 a) Includes (i) employee severance costs/(reversals) of $11 million and $(3) million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively, (ii) accelerated amortization of operating lease ROU assets of $1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and (iii) contract costs related to facility abandonment of $1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025. b) Represents expenses related to the integration of business acquisitions. c) Represents expenses related to business acquisitions, including potential business acquisitions, and includes pre-acquisition due diligence and related activities costs. d) Represents non-cash equity-based compensation expense and employer taxes paid related to equity incentive awards to certain employees. e) Represents fair value movements on earnout derivative liabilities during the periods. f) Adjusted Operating Expenses excludes (i) long-term incentive plan expense of $0 and $3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively and (ii) legal and professional services costs of $0 and $4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA additionally excludes (i) unrealized foreign exchange (loss) gains of $(10) million and $1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively and (ii) non-service component of our net periodic pension cost related to our defined benefit pension plans of $1 million and $2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Reconciliation of last twelve months Adjusted EBITDA: Three months ended Last twelvemonthsended (in $ millions) September30, 2024 December31, 2024 March 31,2025 June 30,2025 June 30,2025 Net (loss) income $ (128 ) $ (14 ) $ 75 $ 15 $ (52 ) Interest income (2 ) (2 ) (2 ) (2 ) (8 ) Interest expense 28 22 24 23 97 Loss on early extinguishment of debt 38 — 2 — 40 Provision for income taxes 54 11 21 21 107 Depreciation and amortization 43 40 40 43 166 EBITDA 33 57 160 100 350 Restructuring, exit and related charges 8 3 4 13 28 Integration costs 7 4 5 3 19 Mergers and acquisitions 12 8 6 18 44 Equity-based compensation and related employer taxes 22 19 31 20 92 Fair value movement on earnout derivative liabilities 22 42 (74 ) (32 ) (42 ) Other adjustments, net 14 (23 ) 9 11 11 Adjusted EBITDA $ 118 $ 110 $ 141 $ 133 $ 502 Reconciliation of net cash from operating activities to Free Cash Flow: Three months ended June 30, (in $ millions) 2025 2024 Net cash from operating activities $ 57 $ 73 Less: Purchase of property and equipment (30 ) (24 ) Free Cash Flow $ 27 $ 49 Reconciliation of Net Debt: As of (in $ millions) June 30, 2025 December 31, 2024 June 30, 2024 Current portion of long-term debt $ 19 $ 19 $ 7 Long-term debt, net of unamortized debt discount and debt issuance costs 1,362 1,365 1,358 Total debt, net of unamortized debt discount and debt issuance costs 1,381 1,384 1,365 Less: Cash and cash equivalents (601 ) (536 ) (515 ) Net Debt $ 780 $ 848 $ 850 LTM Adjusted EBITDA $ 502 $ 478 $ 425 Net Debt / LTM Adjusted EBITDA 1.6x 1.8x 2.0x Reconciliation of Full-Year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance and Full-Year 2025 Free Cash Flow Guidance The Company's full-year 2025 guidance considers various material assumptions. Because the guidance is forward-looking and reflects numerous estimates and assumptions with respect to future industry performance under various scenarios as well as assumptions for competition, general business, economic, market and financial conditions and matters specific to the business of Amex GBT, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Amex GBT, actual results may differ materially from the guidance due to a number of factors, including the ultimate inaccuracy of any of the assumptions described above and the risks and other factors discussed in the section entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" below and the risk factors in the Company's SEC filings. The Company's guidance does not incorporate the impact of the pending acquisition of CWT Holdings, LLC. Adjusted EBITDA guidance for the year ending December 31, 2025 consists of expected net income (loss) for the year ending December 31, 2025, adjusted for: (i) interest expense - net of approximately $85 million; (ii) provision for income taxes of approximately $50-$70 million; (iii) depreciation and amortization of property and equipment of approximately $165 million; (iv) restructuring costs of approximately $30-40 million; (v) integration expenses and costs related to mergers and acquisitions of approximately $60 million; (vi) non-cash equity-based compensation and related employer taxes of approximately $90 million, and; (vii) other adjustments, including litigation and professional services costs, long-term incentive plan costs and non-service component of our net periodic pension benefit related to our defined benefit pension plans of approximately $30 million. We are unable to reconcile Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) determined under U.S. GAAP due to the unavailability of information required to reasonably predict certain reconciling items such as impairment of long-lived assets and right-of-use assets, fair value movement on earnout derivative liabilities, foreign exchange gains (loss) and/or loss on early extinguishment of debt and the related tax impact of these adjustments. The exact amount of these adjustments is not currently determinable but may be significant. Free Cash Flow guidance for the year ending December 31, 2025 consists of expected net cash from operating activities of greater than $250-280 million less purchase of property and equipment of greater than $110-120 million. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements regarding our financial position, business strategy, the plans and objectives of management for future operations and full-year guidance. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors: (1) changes to projected financial information or our ability to achieve our anticipated growth rate and execute on industry opportunities; (2) our ability to maintain our existing relationships with customers and suppliers and to compete with existing and new competitors; (3) various conflicts of interest that could arise among us, affiliates and investors; (4) our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors; (5) factors relating to our business, operations and financial performance, including market conditions and global and economic factors beyond our control; (6) the impact of geopolitical conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East, as well as related changes in base interest rates, inflation and significant market volatility on our business, the travel industry, travel trends and the global economy generally; (7) the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents and investments to meet our liquidity needs; (8) the effect of a prolonged or substantial decrease in global travel on the global travel industry; (9) political, social and macroeconomic conditions (including the widespread adoption of teleconference and virtual meeting technologies which could reduce the number of in-person business meetings and demand for travel and our services); (10) the effect of legal, tax and regulatory changes; (11) the impact of any future acquisitions including the integration of any acquisition; (12) the outcome of any legal proceedings that have been or may be instituted against the Company or CWT Holdings, Inc. ("CWT") in connection with our merger with CWT (the "Merger"); (13) delays in obtaining, adverse conditions contained in, or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or complete regulatory reviews required to complete the Merger; (14) the inability to complete, costs related to, or the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of, the Merger; and (15) other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 7, 2025, and in the Company's other SEC filings. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Disclaimer An investment in Global Business Travel Group, Inc. is not an investment in American Express. American Express shall not be responsible in any manner whatsoever for, and in respect of, the statements herein, all of which are made solely by Global Business Travel Group, Inc. __________________________________ *A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measures is provided at the end of this release. View source version on Contacts Media:Megan KatHead of Global Communications and Public Investors:Jennifer ThoringtonVice President Investor Relationsinvestor@ Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting American Express Stock Will Climb or Sink?
Valued at a market cap of $205.7 billion, American Express Company (AXP) is a leading integrated payments company headquartered in New York. Its products and services include credit cards, charge cards, banking, and other payment and financing products, network services, expense management products and services, and travel and lifestyle services. This credit services giant has outpaced the broader market over the past 52 weeks. Shares of AXP have surged 28.8% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 21.9%. However, on a YTD basis, the stock is down marginally, lagging behind SPX's 7.8% return. More News from Barchart Dear Ford Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendar for August 11 Cathie Wood Is Buying Shares of This Little-Known Ethereum Treasury Company. Should You? Robinhood Stock Seemingly Can't Be Stopped in 2025. Is It Too Late to Buy HOOD Here? Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! Narrowing the focus, AXP has underperformed the iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF's (IYG) 30.7% rise over the past 52 weeks and 9.5% uptick on a YTD basis. On Jul. 18, shares of AXP tumbled 2.4% despite delivering better-than-expected Q2 results. The company's total revenue net of interest expense grew 9.3% year-over-year to a record $17.9 billion, with non-interest revenues up 8.5% and net interest income up 12.3%. The top-line figure exceeded the consensus estimates by 1%. Moreover, on the earnings front, its adjusted EPS of $4.08 improved 16.9% from the year-ago quarter, topping Wall Street estimates by 5.7%. The strong performance was supported by record card member spending and robust demand for the company's premium products. Additionally, AXP reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance, expecting revenue growth of 8% to 10%, and EPS to be between $15 and $15.50. For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect AXP's EPS to grow 14.3% year over year to $15.26. The company's earnings surprise history is promising. It topped the consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters. Among the 29 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy' which is based on eight 'Strong Buy,' two "Moderate Buy,' 17 'Hold,' and two 'Strong Sell' ratings. This configuration is less bullish than a month ago, with nine analysts suggesting a 'Strong Buy' rating and one recommending 'Strong Sell.' On Jul. 21, John Pancari from Evercore Inc. (EVR) maintained a "Hold" rating on AXP with a price target of $330, implying a 12% potential upside from the current levels. The mean price target of $321.38 represents a 9% premium from AXP's current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $375 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 27.2%. On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
a day ago
- Business Wire
Freedom Holding Corp. Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Freedom Holding Corp. (the 'Company') (NASDAQ: FRHC), a multinational diversified financial services holding company with a presence in 22 countries, today announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 ended June 30, 2025. Highlights during the quarter include the following: $533.4 million in total revenue, net, versus $455 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, a 17% increase Net income of $30.4 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, $0.51 per basic share Total assets of $9.7 billion Total customers across segments rose to 5.3 million at June 30, 2025 Added to the Russell 3000 ® Index on June 27, 2025 S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook to Positive from Stable and affirms Credit Ratings for Freedom KZ, Freedom EU, Freedom Global, and Freedom Bank KZ Fiscal First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights: The Company recognized total revenue, net of $533.4 million in the fiscal 2026 first quarter, an increase of 17% from $455 million in the comparable prior-year period. Revenue rose at the brokerage, banking, and insurance segments. Insurance premiums earned, net of reinsurance rose by 18% to $153.3 million from last year's first quarter and the Company realized a net gain on trading securities of $45.6 million compared to a net loss of $52.1 million in last year's fiscal first quarter. The Company had a net gain on derivatives of $15.5 million in the fiscal 2026 first quarter, an increase of 24% from $12.5 million in last year's first quarter due to revaluation of currency swaps. The Company's total expense was approximately $492.9 million in fiscal 2026 first quarter as compared to $413.4 million in last year's first quarter. Net income was $30.4 million for the fiscal 2026 first quarter compared to $34.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.51 and $0.50, respectively, compared to $0.58 and $0.57 per share, respectively, in last year's first quarter. Weighted average common shares outstanding used to compute basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 were 59.9 million and 61.1 million, respectively, and 59.3 million and 60.3 million, respectively, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. Total assets were $9.7 billion on June 30, 2025, compared to $9.9 billion as of the fiscal 2025 year ended March 31, 2025. Continuing the Growth and Evolution of our Business Model 'Our results for the fiscal 2026 first quarter reflect the continuing growth and evolution of our business model,' said Timur Turlov, the Company's founder and chief executive officer. 'We have expanded our product portfolio, embraced the digital transformation of our platform, and strengthened our market presence. We are also elevating our profile in the investment community, as reflected by our inclusion in the Russell 3000® Index on June 27, 2025. We remain ever-grateful for the dedication and hard work of our 10,054 employees in 231 offices around the world.' Mr. Turlov noted the Company's success in transforming into a one-stop shop, multi-point financial ecosystem that allows clients to manage their diverse financial needs in partnership with a single, trusted provider. He continued, 'Our commitment to providing the highest level of client service and accountability, including the continuing success of our Super App, has allowed us to expand our client base to more than 5.3 million across our three primary segments, representing a nearly 5% increase from March 31, 2025. Our strong financial position will support our growth objectives for fiscal 2026, with a focus on continuing our investments in digital infrastructure and AI to build out the Freedom services portfolio.' Additional Fiscal First Quarter 2026 highlights Brokerage: Revenue increased to $176.3 million from $174.9 million, driven by increases in fee and commission income, net gain on trading securities, and interest income, partially offset by a decrease in net (loss)/gain on foreign exchange operations and lower other income. Total retail brokerage clients rose to 725,000 as of June 30, 2025 compared to 683,000 as of March 31, 2025. Brokerage services were offered at 44 offices as of June 30, 2025. Banking: Revenue increased by 60% to $146.2 million from $91.2 million, driven primarily by an increase of net gain in trading securities, partially offset by lower commission income, which was primarily driven by active use by customers of a cashback-based loyalty program. The loyalty program is leveraged to effectively reduce transaction costs for customers by supporting our customer base expansion and increasing engagement across the ecosystem. Total banking clients rose to 2,927,000 as of June 30, 2025, up from 2,515,000 as of March 31, 2025. Banking services were offered at 30 offices as of June 30, 2025. Insurance: Revenue rose by 18% to $174.0 million from $147.3 million, driven by improved insurance premiums earned, net of reinsurance from written insurance premiums due to the expansion of the Company's insurance operations such as pension annuity and accident insurance. Total insurance clients rose to 1,396,000 as of June 30, 2025, from 1,170,000 as of March 31, 2025. Insurance services were offered at 57 offices as of June 30, 2025. Other Segments: Revenue declined to $36.9 million from $41.6 million as additional lifestyle benefits were added for customers as we invest in and develop the telecom business as part our long-term strategic planning. Acquisition of Astel Group Ltd On April 30, 2025, the Company acquired 100% interest in Astel Group Ltd. Astel Group Ltd. is a provider of digital solutions and telecommunications services, and ranks among the largest telecom operators in Kazakhstan. Astel Group Ltd provides advanced IT solutions including information security and cloud services. The purpose of the acquisition of Astel Group Ltd was to use the acquired assets and licenses to develop our telecommunications business. As of April 30, 2025, the date of the acquisition of Astel Group Ltd, the fair value of net assets of Astel Group Ltd was $20.6 million. The total purchase price was $22.3 million. About Freedom Holding Corp. Freedom Holding Corp., a Nevada corporation, is a diversified financial services holding company conducting securities brokerage, investment research, investment counseling, securities dealing, commercial banking and insurance products through its subsidiaries, operating under the name Freedom Finance in Europe and Central Asia, and Freedom Capital Markets in the United States. Through its subsidiaries, Freedom Holding Corp. employs more than 10,054 people and is a professional participant in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the Astana International Exchange, the Republican Stock Exchange of Tashkent, International Trading System Limited, Armenia Stock Exchange, Kyrgyz Stock Exchange, the Uzbek Republican Currency Exchange and is a member of the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Freedom Holding Corp.'s common shares are registered under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are traded under the symbol FRHC on the Nasdaq Capital Market, operated by Nasdaq, Inc. The Company has its main market of operations in Kazakhstan and has operations through its subsidiaries in 22 countries. To learn more about Freedom Holding Corp., visit Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "expect," "new," "plan," "seek," and "will," or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology and include statements relating to our plans, intentions and expectations including our plans to enter the telecommunications market, our expectations with respect to further years and other non-historical statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in, or anticipated by, the forward-looking statements. Factors that could materially affect such forward-looking statements include economic, business, and regulatory risks and other factors including those identified in the Company's periodic and current reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Website Disclosure Freedom Holding Corp. intends to use its website, as a means for disclosing material non-public information and for complying with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation FD and other disclosure obligation. FREEDOM HOLDING CORP. (All amounts in thousands of United States dollars, unless otherwise stated) Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 2024 Revenue: Fee and commission income $ 107,642 $ 115,489 Net gain/(loss) on trading securities 45,602 (52,102 ) Interest income 198,571 226,004 Insurance premiums earned, net of reinsurance 153,257 129,408 Net (loss)/ gain on foreign exchange operations (12,893 ) 8,089 Net gain on derivatives 15,459 12,494 Sales of goods and services 17,224 5,220 Other income 8,561 10,397 TOTAL REVENUE, NET $ 533,423 $ 454,999 Expense: Fee and commission expense $ 84,871 $ 80,147 Interest expense 113,410 145,718 Insurance claims incurred, net of reinsurance 80,285 47,309 Payroll and bonuses 93,101 57,524 Professional services 13,024 7,268 Stock compensation expense 23,054 10,615 Advertising and sponsorship expense (including for the three months ended $5,513 and $2,045 from related parties) 24,463 21,896 General and administrative expense 41,975 40,410 Allowance for/(recovery of) expected credit losses 4,822 (1,770 ) Cost of sales 13,903 4,284 TOTAL EXPENSE $ 492,908 $ 413,401 INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAX 40,515 41,598 Income tax expense (10,119 ) (7,339 ) NET INCOME $ 30,396 $ 34,259 Less: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest in subsidiary — (141 ) NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS $ 30,396 $ 34,400 OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME Change in unrealized gain on investments available-for-sale, net of tax effect 2,998 3,374 Reclassification adjustment for net realized loss/(gain) on available-for-sale investments disposed of in the period, net of tax effect 174 (18 ) Foreign currency translation adjustments (41,804 ) (65,811 ) OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (38,632 ) (62,455 ) $ (8,236 ) $ (28,196 ) — (141 ) $ (8,236 ) $ (28,055 ) EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE (In U.S. dollars): Earnings per common share - basic 0.51 0.58 Earnings per common share - diluted 0.50 0.57 Weighted average number of shares (basic) 59,853,479 59,258,085 Weighted average number of shares (diluted) 61,057,627 60,255,593 Expand
