As the holiday package crunch arrives after a year of increasing online purchases during COVID-19 lockdowns, FedEx Corp. record sales of $ 20 billion for the first time on Thursday and earnings more than doubled.
FedEx FDX,
reported second-quarter earnings were up 114% to $ 1.23 billion, or $ 4.55 a share, from $ 2.13 a share a year ago. Adjusted for a retirement plan change and some integration costs, the company reported earnings of $ 4.83 per share, up from $ 2.51 per share a year ago.
Sales were up 19% to $ 20.6 billion from $ 17.3 billion a year ago. Analysts expected, on average, adjusted earnings of $ 4.01 per share on revenue of $ 19.43 billion, according to FactSet.
The company declined to make a specific forecast for the current quarter due to ongoing uncertainty.
“While the overall environment remains uncertain, we expect earnings growth in the second half of fiscal 2021, driven by the expected increased demand for our services as we continue to deliver on our strategic priorities,” said Chief Financial Officer Michael Lenz in the announcement from Thursday.
The stock fell more than 2% in after-hours trading immediately after the results were released. FedEx shares have nearly doubled in the shipping boom this year, rising 93.5% in 2020 during Thursday’s regular session. The S&P 500 index SPX,
has gained 14.6% in that time.