Homebound shoppers fuel record UPS growth during coronavirus
Business-to-consumer shipments in the U.S. climbed 65 percent
United Parcel Service profit rose 4.6 percent as Americans shopping online during the COVID-19 pandemic helped drive record growth in package shipments.
The Atlanta-based package-delivery service earned $1.79 billion, or an adjusted $2.13 per share. Total revenue increased 13 percent year-over-year to $20.46 billion. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refintiv were anticipating adjusted earnings of $1.07 per share on revenue of $17.48 billion.
“Our results were better than we expected, driven in part by the changes in demand that emerged from the pandemic, including a surge in residential volume, COVID-19 related healthcare shipments and strong outbound demand from Asia,” CEO Carol Tome said in a statement.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC. | 134.02 | -1.70 | -1.25% |
The company’s U.S. domestic service saw average daily volume grow by a record 23 percent to 21.1 million packages per day. The segment, which accounted for 64 percent of total revenue, saw sales grow 17 percent from a year ago to $13.07 billion.
Strong demand for residential delivery amid the pandemic resulted in business-to-consumer shipment growth of 65 percent, the company said.
UPS’s international segment reported average daily volume growth of 9.8 percent amid robust outbound demand from Asia and an uptick in cross-border e-commerce in Europe. Sales grew 5.7 percent to $3.7 billion.
The supply chain and freight segment reported revenue rose 8.5 percent to $3.68 billion, driven partly by elevated air-freight demand out of Asia.
UPS did not provide earnings or revenue guidance due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
Shares rose 5.66 percent this year through Wednesday, outperforming the S&P 500’s 0.85 percent gain.