FedEx Boosts Outlook as Momentum Builds Ahead of Holidays

(Bloomberg) -- FedEx Corp. raised its profit and sales guidance for the year, another promising sign for parcel carriers heading into the all-important holiday shipping season.

Adjusted earnings will be $18 to $18.60 a share in 2026, up from a prior forecast range topping out at $18.10, FedEx said Wednesday in a statement as it reported quarterly results. The company now sees revenue growth of about 12%.

The improved outlook is a boon for the company's ongoing network overhaul and suggests shipping demand is holding strong heading into the busy year-end months, despite high prices and economic volatility. FedEx echoed rival United Parcel Service Inc., which raised its sales and profit outlook earlier this week.

For the three months ending Sept. 30, FedEx's adjusted earnings rose to $3.74 a share. Its revenue and operating margin improved as well.

While the report was broadly positive, the stock was down in postmarket trading, possibly reflecting confusion around a change in FedEx's reporting calendar that made it difficult to compare with analyst estimates. After a brief drop of 7.1%, the shares pared declines and were trading 1.9% lower as of 4:45 p.m. in New York.

This year has been one of transition for FedEx, which recently spun off its freight division and sold its supply-chain unit to CMA CGM Group, moves to allow FedEx to focus on its core parcel business. It's also progressing through a sweeping overhaul under Chief Executive Officer Raj Subramaniam to merge the historically separate air and ground delivery networks.

The quarter also marked a change in FedEx's reporting schedule as it moved to a fiscal year aligning with the calendar year. The company will now report quarterly results on a similar basis to UPS.

The parcel business has struggled to rebound from several years of stagnant demand, pressured by inflation and tariffs, as well as a comedown from a pandemic-driven boom in e-commerce deliveries. Both FedEx and UPS have shifted their emphasis to high-value shipments, such as those for the healthcare and high-tech sectors.

As of the end of the third quarter, FedEx held $2.7 billion in cash on hand for tariff refunds paid by customers on President Donald Trump's IEEPA tariffs, which were struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. FedEx filed a lawsuit in February against the administration seeking refunds, and has said it will distribute the refunds to its customers.