Q3 earnings season: Two big winners

Key takeaways

• The 2025 Q3 earnings cycle has remained notably positive.
• EPS and revenue growth for S&P 500 members remains strong.
• Wayfair and American Express both posted robust results.

Earnings season is slowly winding down, with the vast majority of S&P 500 companies already delivering their quarterly results. The period has been another of positivity, with growth remaining strong and a solid number of companies exceeding consensus expectations.

And throughout the period so far, Wayfair (W) and American Express (AXP) have been two big winners, with each seeing positive post-earnings reactions alongside announcing guidance upgrades.

Let’s take a closer look at each release.

Wayfair sees order momentum

Wayfair posted a double-beat concerning our headline expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.70 climbing 220% year-over-year and sales of $3.1 billion growing 8.1%. Importantly, its 6.7% adjusted EBITDA margin was its highest ever outside the pandemic.

Its orders delivered grew by more than 5% year-over-year, with new orders also now growing in the mid-single digits for two consecutive periods. Importantly, Wayfair has now strung together a few sizable beats concerning its Orders Delivered relative to our consensus expectations, reflective of the above-mentioned momentum.

AXP reports record sales

American Express posted a double-beat concerning our headline expectations, with adjusted EPS climbing 19% alongside a 10% sales increase. AXP raised its current year sales and EPS outlook thanks to the strong results, with shares seeing a nice pop post-earnings.

Sales of $18.4 billion reflected a quarterly record, with successful launches of updated Platinum Cards providing nice benefits. Increased Card Member spending also provided big tailwinds, with Net Interest Income of $4.5 billion also exceeding our consensus estimate by nearly 4%.

Bottom line

The 2025 Q3 earnings season has been strong, with an above-average number of companies exceeding quarterly expectations. Growth has remained strong, with the big banks also initially giving us a solid read on the state of the consumer.

And concerning post-earnings pops so far, both companies above – Wayfair (W) and American Express (AXP) – posted results that had investors celebrating.

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