American Express (AXP) posted its latest quarterly earnings report showing an increase in net sales, but still missed out on Wall Street expectations. In a conversation with Yahoo Finance, CEO Stephen Squeri stated: "I think it's slowing down [the economy], and that's what's in our guidance, a slightly slower economy. Not a recession, but a slightly slower economy," but is there more to the story? TD Cowen Managing Director Moshe Orenbuch — who covers the Specialty Finance sector — joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the guidance from American Express as well as give insight into the consumer and how they might fare in 2024. "The consumer is still spending a lot of money. I think what Amex has benefitted from most is the diversification of that spend. In other words, they actually saw some slowdown in T&E [Travel and Entertainment] spending kind of led by softness in airlines spending, which used to be their bellwether," Orenbuch explains. "Now, restaurants are a larger category for them than airlines, and you know, T&E, which is a little over a quarter of all of their spend. That means three quarters of it is coming from goods and services and more everyday spend, so... the consumer has shifted a little bit in terms of what they're spending, but they're still spending fairly well, and that can be expected to increase in the high single digits in 2024." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live. Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino