United Parcel Service raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Tuesday on better-than-expected third-quarter earnings after cutting doorstep deliveries of millions of unprofitable packages for Amazon.
CEO Carol Tome said UPS’ focus on more lucrative business means it can make more money delivering slightly fewer packages during its critical peak holiday season quarter every year.
Shares of the world’s largest parcel delivery firm jumped nearly three per cent in early trading.
Atlanta-based UPS expects total average daily volume to be down 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter as it becomes more selective in which packages it delivers. At the same time, executives forecast a roughly three per cent rise in revenue in the company’s domestic operation, its largest, and an estimated seven per cent increase in international revenue.
“We’re dispelling the old belief that all packages were created equal and that volume solves all problems,” Tome told Reuters.
A widening gap between the cost per parcel and revenue per parcel will improve margins, Chief Financial Officer Brian Dykes said.
UPS’ reduction in unprofitable deliveries — and the resulting lower volume reduction — in the fourth quarter means UPS can spend less on labor as well as truck and plane leases to handle the holiday package surge, Dykes said.
Tome said the outlook for holiday delivery demand is strong as US consumers continue spending despite pressures from rising inflation and prices at the pump.
“US consumers remain resilient,” she said.
Slimmer operation sets stage for growth
UPS has shuttered facilities and shed thousands of jobs after scaling back deliveries for Amazon, its largest customer. UPS said it completed the Amazon scale-down in the second quarter.
Rival FedEx, which reports results on Wednesday, is using a similar strategy. Both companies have been under pressure from investors to improve margins by focusing on higher-value shipments.
Tome also said data center construction is a significant opportunity as it touches every part of UPS, which can fly in critical components such as microprocessors, arrange ocean shipments of equipment, store goods and make final deliveries.
For the third quarter, UPS posted adjusted profit of US$1.69 per share, lower than US$1.74 per share a year ago but above analysts’ average estimate of US$1.63.
Third-quarter adjusted operating margin in UPS’ domestic unit, which generates about 65 per cent of company revenue, rose to 7 per cent from 6.4 per cent a year earlier.
The smaller but more profitable international package division also reported a higher adjusted operating margin of 14.9 per cent for the third quarter, compared with 14.8 per cent last year.
Jefferies analysts said third-quarter earnings showcased a “quarter of strong execution,” while Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell wrote in a note that the results give “some confidence in durability.”
UPS also said it was on track to meet its target of US$3 billion in cost savings this year. It has saved US$1.8 billion through September.
The company now expects 2026 adjusted profit of around US$7.28 per share, compared with the US$7.22 it had forecast in July. Analysts expect the company to report a profit of US$7.19 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
UPS expects annual revenue of US$92.6 billion, compared with its previous projection of US$91.2 billion and above analysts’ estimate of US$91.73 billion.
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Reporting by Lisa Baertlein and Nandan Mandayam; Editing by Leroy Leo, Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel and Nick Zieminski
