Morning and welcome to American Express Company's 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Please note that this audio cast will be recorded and will consist of copyrighted material. You may not record or rebroadcast these materials without the express written consent of American Express. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Stephen Squeri, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead. Thank you and good morning. I'm Steve Squeri and welcome to American Express Company's 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. As Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, I will preside over the meeting. We are pleased to be holding our annual meeting virtually and would like to thank everyone for joining us today via audio cast. The meeting agenda and rules of today's meeting are available on our virtual annual meeting website. Please review them as they are now in effect. If we encounter any technical difficulties that prevent us from continuing the meeting, we'll ask shareholders and guests to stand by and allow us time to provide an update relating to the meeting. Now, I'd like to begin by providing an overview of how our meeting will proceed. First, I'll call the meeting to order. I will turn the meeting over to Jim Killerlane, our Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer. Jim will go over some procedural matters necessary for our corporate record keeping and describe some of the rules for the meeting. I will introduce the five items up for vote and the polls will be open for voting on these items. We will take questions on these items after they have all been presented. After the polls are closed, Jim will report on the preliminary voting results. Following that, I will adjourn the meeting and at that time, expected to be approximately 10 minutes from now, we will close the submission of questions. I will then present an overview of our business. Immediately following this presentation, we will use the remaining time to answer pre-submitted questions from shareholders and take general questions that have been submitted by shareholders during this meeting through our virtual meeting website. For any financial or business matters relating to your card member accounts, I encourage you to contact our customer service representatives directly for personalized assistance. With that, I now call the meeting to order and would like to start by introducing our slate of director nominees who are joining us through the audio cast today: Michael Angelakis, Tom Baltimore, Jack Brennan, Ted Leonsis, Deborah Majoras, Karen Parkhill, Charles Phillips, Lynn Pike, Dan Vassella, Lisa Wardell, and Chris Young. Also joining us through the audio cast today is Timothy Boyce, a partner at our outside audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers. The proxy holders for this meeting are Laureen Seeger, Jim Killerlane, and David Kinnerick. I will now turn the meeting over to Jim to review the meeting rules. Jim, please go ahead. Thank you, Steve. I would like to note that today's audio cast may contain forward-looking statements which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are set forth in the company's first quarter form 10-Q, 2024 annual report, and other reports on file with the SEC. We encourage you to review that information in conjunction with today's discussion. Today's discussion also contains non-GAAP financial measures. The comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the presentation materials posted on our website at ir.americanexpress.com. We encourage you to review that information in conjunction with today's discussion. Today, we will consider five items for shareholder vote: three management proposals and two shareholder proposals, all of which are described in our 2025 proxy statement. Shareholder proponents will have up to four minutes to discuss their proposals. After the proposals have been presented, we will take any questions related to the proposals, close the voting, tabulate the votes, and announce the preliminary voting results. Please note that this meeting is being recorded. However, no one attending via the audio cast is permitted to use any audio recording device. Shareholders may submit questions at any time during the official business portion of the meeting through our virtual meeting website. Similar or related questions may be grouped and answered together to avoid repetition. To allow us to answer questions from as many shareholders as possible, we will limit each shareholder to two questions. You may vote the shares you hold through our virtual meeting website until the polls are closed. However, if you've already submitted your proxy to vote on these matters, you do not need to vote again unless you want to change your vote. Notice of today's meeting and related proxy materials, or a notice of internet availability of these materials, were mailed beginning March 14th, 2025, to all shareholders of record as of March 3rd, 2025. In addition, I have in my possession the oath subscribed to by the inspectors of election. I also have in my possession certified lists of the shareholders of the company as of the close of business on March 3rd, 2025. A copy of the list of shareholders entitled to vote at this meeting is available for inspection by any certified shareholder attending this meeting through our virtual meeting website. The company has designated Peter Descovich, an agent of Broadridge, to act as the inspector of election. Mr. Descovich, who is participating in today's audio cast, has taken the oath of office and is prepared to serve. He is advised that holders of shares representing over 88.8% of the shares entitled to vote are present in person or represented by proxy, which constitutes a quorum. Votes represented by proxies received this morning, as well as those to be voted virtually during this meeting, will be included in the inspector's report, which will be filed with the records of the meeting. I will now turn the meeting back over to Steve. Thank you, Jim. I declare that a quorum is present. The meeting is now convened for the purpose of transacting business properly brought before it. We're now ready to consider the five items that are up for shareholder vote. We will take questions on the proposals after all the proposals have been presented. The polls are now open to vote on these proposals. Jim, will you now introduce them? Thanks, Steve. As previously mentioned, there are five proposals on the agenda today comprised of three management proposals and two shareholder proposals, all of which are described in our 2025 proxy statement. I will start with the management proposals. The first proposal is to elect our 12 director nominees. The second proposal is to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2025. The third proposal is the advisory resolution to approve the compensation of the company's named executive officers. The fourth proposal is a shareholder proposal submitted by the National Legal and Policy Center. It appears on page 84 of the proxy statement. Luke Perlot will now introduce this proposal on their behalf. Please play his pre-submitted reporting. Good morning. Following the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, corporate DEI programs have come under intense scrutiny. Many companies, including Disney, Amazon, and Goldman Sachs, are changing or dropping their DEI programs to avoid legal, financial, and reputational liability. However, American Express continues to embed DEI metrics within its executive compensation incentives, exposing shareholders to unnecessary risks. Amex has pledged billions towards DEI programs and has set an explicit goal to increase spending with suppliers owned by minorities, LGBT, women, veterans, and other "underrepresented" groups. While these DEI goals are hidden within qualitative assessment criteria, they nonetheless influence executive pay. Legal experts warn that race or gender-focused DEI incentives risk violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Starbucks' $28.3 million judgment in 2023 due to discriminatory firing practices underscores the significant legal dangers of continuing to implement DEI programs. Moreover, aggressive DEI policies do not deliver the promised benefits. Instead, they often exacerbate workplace tensions and discrimination. Research conducted by Harvard Business Review shows compulsory diversity programs can lead to defensiveness and animosity among employees, undermining team cohesion and productivity. Additionally, American Express's multi-billion dollar DEI spending risks diverting critical resources from areas genuinely linked to shareholder value. We advocate for merit-based policies focused on measurable business performance rather than political ideology. Removing DEI-related metrics from executive compensation protects shareholders and promotes an effective workforce. Thus, we urge you to vote for item four to eliminate discriminatory DEI goals from executive pay incentives. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Perlot. The Board of Directors' reasons for opposing this proposal begin on page 86 of the proxy statement. Jim, please introduce the next shareholder proposal. The fifth proposal is a shareholder proposal submitted by Boyer Research on behalf of Thomas Rivers. It appears on page 88 of the proxy statement. Isaac Willowar will now introduce this proposal on Dr. Rivers' behalf. Please play his pre-submitted reporting. Hello. My name is Isaac Willowar. I represent Boyer Research, filer of proposal number five, asking Amex to commit to politically neutral advertising policies. More and more companies, from Meta to McDonald's, are moving away from taking political sides in their business practices. Why? Because neutrality is becoming the best practice. It avoids controversy, protects brand reputation, and focuses on business, not politics. Now, Amex says it champions an inclusive workforce. That's a great goal. If everyone is truly included, then political neutrality should be part of that vision, especially when it comes to where and how Amex spends its ad dollars. Unfortunately, Amex was a member of GARM, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. That group worked to keep advertising money away from platforms labeled as promoting disinformation or hate speech. In reality, however, this often meant targeting right-leaning media outlets like the Daily Wire or platforms like Spotify for hosting voices such as Joe Rogan. It wasn't about responsibility. GARM was about politics. GARM used enormous amounts of ad spending to push activist goals, and it backfired. There was legal and political pushback. Elon Musk even filed a lawsuit after GARM targeted his platform, X. Eventually, the alliance shut down, and an antitrust nominee from President Trump's DOJ said that GARM was probably a form of illegal collusion. Unfortunately, the damage is done. Shareholders are right to expect Amex to step back from partisan ad policies and commit to neutrality going forward. That's what proposal five is about. It's a chance for Amex to rebuild trust with shareholders and focus on what matters: fairness, neutrality, and smart business. Please vote yes on proposal five. Thank you, Mr. Willowar. The Board of Directors' reasons for opposing this proposal begin on page 89 of the proxy statement. Jim, are there any other matters to be presented before this meeting? There are no further matters to be brought before this meeting, Steve. We will now respond to questions from shareholders on the five proposals. Are there any questions that pertain to voting matters? Please give us one moment to compile the questions. Our first question is from Samantha Martin from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. The calculation of the CEO compensation actually paid total in the pay versus performance table for the past several years can dramatically differ from the CEO total compensation amount in the summary compensation table. How does the compensation committee use the compensation actually paid total compensation figures in its calculation of the CEO target total compensation award for the upcoming year? You can find our pay versus performance disclosures and our board's process with determining annual compensation on our proxy statement. Our next question is from Jerry Boyer. Given the cascade of companies adopting explicit guarantees of non-discriminatory advertising policies in response to shareholder concern, would Amex consider adopting a similar guarantee? We advertise where we can best reach our customers and prospects. We do not employ discriminatory practices in any aspects of our business and comply with all required laws. Since there are no more questions, I will close the polls momentarily. If you have not yet voted and wish to do so, please do so now. I now declare the polls closed and all matters have been voted upon by shareholders. Jim, will you please report the preliminary results? The preliminary voting results are as follows. All 12 director nominees have been duly elected to the Board of Directors. The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers has been ratified. The advisory vote on executive compensation has been approved, and none of the shareholder proposals received the required majority support. The final voting results will be reported on a Form 8K filing with the SEC within four business days of today's meeting. I will now turn the meeting back over to Steve. Thank you, Jim. That completes the official business of the meeting. The formal meeting is now adjourned, and we will now close submission of questions. I will now provide a brief overview of the company's performance and priorities. Our full year 2024 results set new records across key metrics. We delivered record revenues of $66 billion, up 10% on an FX-adjusted basis, and we generated record annual net income of over $10 billion, or $14.01 per share, up 25% year over year, including the gain from a sale of a certified. Card member spending was strong and led to total billed business of $1.6 trillion. We also acquired 13 million new proprietary card members in 2024, driven by strong demand for our premium fee-based products. Finally, our disciplined capital management program enabled us to return $7.9 billion of capital to shareholders last year. The ongoing momentum in our business is the result of the great work of our colleagues across the company, the loyalty and engagement of our premium customers around the world, as well as our continued focus on our four strategic imperatives: expand our leadership in the premium consumer space, build on our strong position in commercial payments, strengthen our global integrated network, and build in our unique global position. 2025 started with a strong first quarter as we continue to execute our long-term growth strategy. We reported Q1 revenues of $17 billion, up 8% year over year on an FX-adjusted basis, generating net income of $2.6 billion and earnings per share of $3.64. This year also marks a major milestone for the company: our 175th year in business. It has been a journey of innovation, transformation, and resiliency. By continuously reinventing ourselves, we have transformed from an express delivery company into the global premium financial and lifestyle company that we are today. Throughout our journey, one thing has remained constant: our brand promise of trust, security, and service. Looking ahead, I'm confident that we are well positioned to build on this strong foundation and drive sustained growth by continuing to deliver on our brand promise and innovate for our customers. Thank you. As I said earlier, we are now going to answer questions about American Express that were submitted by our shareholders. As a reminder, the rules of the meeting remain in effect. Please note that we will attempt to answer as many questions as time allows, but we will not be addressing questions that are inappropriate, refer to personal card member information, or are otherwise unrelated to the proposals or business of the meeting. Please refer to our rules of conduct for further information on the types of questions that fall into these categories. Thank you, Steve. Please give us one moment to finish compiling the questions that have come in. Our first question is from Armando Ortiz. Hello, Steve and members of the Board of Directors. I have a question that relates to artificial intelligence. I would like to know if Amex will provide access to utilize AI resources for everyday operations such as customer support, data entry, meeting scheduling, or documentation, which can save time, effort, and reduce human errors. Thank you for your time. Yes, we do. Our colleagues are utilizing various AI technologies, both GenAI and traditional AI, like machine learning, to better serve our customers and drive operational efficiencies, including in areas like customer servicing and technology. Our next question is from Andrew Brian Rogers. Why is there no analysis or comparison showing temporary staff versus permanent employees included in any element of the financial reports? The temporary staff significantly contribute to the success of all company metrics and, as such, should be acknowledged in the annual reports. We disclose our total headcount figures according to our regulatory requirements. We highly value all of our colleagues, including part-time colleagues and independent contractors, and appreciate their contributions to our company's success. Our next question is from Mark Zashin. Does the company see AXP credit card customers pulling back on big-ticket purchases? Does this affect the marketing of the company with tariffs? As I said at the Q1 earnings a couple of weeks ago, we continue to see consistent spend trends among our premium customer base. It's too early to predict how the economic forces will play out in the coming months and what impacts will be on our customer base. Okay. We have another question from Mark Zashin. Will deglobalization as anti-American sentiment affect the strategy of the company? No, it does not change our strategy. We have great value propositions. We're one of the most admired brands in the world. We work with great partners globally and show up locally for our customers. Steve, there are no more questions. Since there are no further questions, this concludes today's meeting. Thank you very much for attending. This now concludes the meeting. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.