"We saw Card Member spending accelerate from the prior quarter and exceed pre-pandemic levels in June, with the largest portion of this spending growth coming from Millennial, Gen Z, and small business customers," said CEO Stephen Squeri. "As we look ahead, we are increasingly optimistic that the momentum we've generated will continue given the strength we see in our core business, particularly in the U.S., even as the pace of the recovery remains uneven in different regions around the world," he added. "Based on current trends, we are confident in our ability to be within the high end of the range of EPS expectations we had for 2020 in 2022." American Express shares were marked 3.4% higher in pre-market trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate an opening bell price of $176.70 each. U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly stronger last mont h, suggesting job gains and rising vaccination rates offset inflation concerns in the world's biggest economy.