By Jaiveer Shekhawat and Arasu Kannagi Basil

(Reuters) -American Express on Friday beat Wall Street revenue expectations, as more consumers swiped its cards during the holiday season for travel and online shopping.

A strong holiday season against the backdrop of a falling rate environment helped AmEx sustain spending volumes.

AmEx, which mostly caters to wealthy consumers, has been able to better navigate economic uncertainty compared to some of its peers, as higher-earning individuals are less sensitive to inflation and elevated borrowing costs.

New York-based AmEx's revenue rose 9% to $17.18 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, edging past expectations of $17.16 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Billed business, a measure of spending on AmEx cards, rose 8% to $408.4 billion in the fourth quarter.

Travel and entertainment spend was the strongest area, CFO Christophe Le Caillec told Reuters, adding that airline travel, in particular, did really well.

On an adjusted basis, AmEx earned $3.04 per share, in line with Street expectations.

"We are encouraged by accelerating billings growth as we believe it will be a key factor for American Express (NYSE: AXP ) to meet its aspirational target of at least 10% revenue growth," William Blair analysts said in a note.

Meanwhile, AmEx's provisions for credit losses fell to $1.3 billion in the quarter, from $1.4 billion a year earlier.

A resilient economy and a string of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have eased concerns around credit quality.

"The impact of rate changes to our economics are really, really small, given the nature of our balance sheet and the funding structure that we have," Le Caillec said.

AmEx expects 2025 earnings per share to be between $15 and $15.50, compared with analysts' estimates of $15.23.

The company also forecast 2025 revenue growth between 8% and 10%, compared with Street expectations of 8.1%.