FedEx Corp. stock rose more than 3% in the extended session Thursday after the delivery and logistics company reported quarterly earnings within analyst expectations and said that it expects higher profits in its next fiscal year.
FedEx FDX, -0.39% said it earned $558 million, or $2.13 a share, in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with $1.9 billion, or $6.88 a share, in the year-ago period.
Adjusted for one-time items, the logistics company earned $6.87 a share.
Revenue rose to $24.4 billion from $22.6 billion a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet called for adjusted earnings of $6.88 a share on revenue of $24.5 billion.
FedEx’s Express business improved partly due to fuel surcharges, but volumes softened globally due to pandemic lockdowns and economic and geopolitical uncertainty, the company said. FedEx Ground operating results fell.
The star was FedEx Freight, the company said, whose operating results “sharply increased” thanks to a 28% rise in revenue per shipment.
For fiscal 2023, the company guided for EPS between $22.45 and $24.45 before adjustments related to retirement plans and other initiatives, and capital spending of $6.8 billion. The analysts polled by FactSet called for fiscal 2023 EPS of around $22.21.
The priority will be investments to improve efficiency, the company said, “including fleet and facility modernization, and increased automation.” FedEx has scheduled an investors meeting for Tuesday.
So far this year, FedEx stock has lost about 12%, compared with losses of around 20% for the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.95%.