To their credit

American Express had its best day in almost three years Friday after the credit card company forecast higher-than-expected profits for 2023 and said it would raise its dividend.

New York-based AmEx said it saw charge-offs and delinquencies rise in the fourth quarter, but CEO Steve Squeri said that the company’s credit metrics “remained strong.”

AmEx saw a double-digit rise in card usage from a year ago as members spent $413.3 billion on their cards last quarter, helping push profit to $1.57 billion in the period, or $2.07 a share.

Noting the growth in cardmember spending and an expectation that delinquencies will level off this year, AmEx forecast full-year profit between $11.00 and $11.40 a share for 2023. It also raised its quarterly dividend to 60 cents a share from 52 cents per share.