NEW YORK — American Express Co. today reported second-quarter profit of $257 million.

The company said it had net income of 29 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 13 cents per share.

The credit card issuer and global payments company posted revenue of $7.68 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $7.9 billion.

American Express shares have decreased 22% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has stayed nearly flat. The stock has dropped 25% in the past 12 months.