At American Express, Warnings About the \'Fiscal Cliff\'

2:14 p.m. | Updated

After the widespread (and highly visible) damage caused by Hurricane Sandy this week, worries about the fiscal cliff may not be at the forefront of most people's minds.

The economic calamity is a lot less visual (though The Wall Street Journal did come up with this this clever video), and the destructive force seems somehow in the faraway future.

But companies are already warning investors about the harsh effects of the fiscal cliff. American Express's 10-Q, which was filed Wednesday, included a new dire warning about the rapidly approaching year-end deadline.

“The company expects that it will take some time for the U.S. economy to get back onto a steady, upward growth track,” the filing said. “Moreover, in the absence of legislative action, there continues to be growing concerns about the potential impact of the ‘fiscal cliff' arising from scheduled federal spending cuts and tax increases set for the end of 2012.”

The statement goes into more detail than what the firm's chief financial officer, Daniel T. Henry, said during the quarterly earnings call two weeks ago. Then, an analyst for Telsey Advisory Group asked if there might be a larger impact, specifically in terms of the company's spending on marketing.

“If things were to be better, we know exactly what we'd do. And if things were to be worse, we know exactly what we're going to do. So we will monitor this closely,” Mr. Henry said, according to a transcript of the call. Marina Hoffmann Norville, a spokeswoman for the company, declined to comment beyond what was in the S.E.C. filing.

American Express isn't the only large company to mention the fiscal cliff in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But others have been more nuanced or noncommittal on the effects. In its third-quarter earnings release Thursday, the payroll processing company Automatic Data P rocessing noted that “there is concern in the U.S. surrounding the fiscal cliff.” In its third-quarter earnings release Wednesday, Visa, the giant credit card company, included the “so-called fiscal cliff” in a list of economic factors that might impact the company.

Also on Thursday, the former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who just took over as president and chief executive of the Financial Services Roundtable, issued its own warning in a letter sent to President Obama and Congress.

“We urge Congress and the administration to deal with the fiscal cliff in a two-pronged approach: First, bridge over the fiscal cliff as soon as possible to minimize negative economic consequences. Second, address the federal budget deficit in a comprehensive and bipartisan manner in early 2013 to put the U.S. on a path for sustained growth,” Mr. Pawlenty wrote.

But if the Dec. 31 deadline moves closer without any indication of resolution, companies are likely to ste p up their disclosures in S.E.C. filings.

Michelle Leder is the editor of footnoted.com, a Web site that takes a closer look at companies' regulatory filings.