FedEx climbs on cheery annual profit forecast, freight business review By Reuters

By Gokul Pisharody and Ananta Agarwal

(Reuters) -FedEx shares jumped 13% premarket on Wednesday after the delivery giant reassured investors with a largely upbeat annual profit forecast and said it would weigh options for its less-than-truckload business that one analyst valued at $30 billion.

On Tuesday, the company projected fiscal 2025 earnings of $20 to $22 per share – the midpoint of which was slightly above analysts’ estimates – as cost cuts rolled out to tackle a slump in freight demand are set to yield $2.2 billion in savings.

The company is also undertaking a strategic review of its FedEx (NYSE:) Freight trucking business that generated revenue of $2.3 billion in the latest quarter, a step analysts welcomed.

“We think (strategic review of Freight business) could unlock significant value for shareholders,” Bernstein analyst David Vernon said.

“The key here is not just getting a higher multiple — it’s understanding that a stand-alone Freight business would be in a better position to close the margin gap to peers,” Vernon added.

Jefferies analyst Stephanie Moore pegged the value of the business at $30 billion.

FedEx’s shares were trading at $290.2 and were set to add $8.3 billion to the company’s market value, if current gains hold.

Shares of rival United Parcel Service (NYSE:) were up 1.3%.

FedEx is consolidating its separate delivery companies into a single entity to save costs and better compete with UPS and Amazon (NASDAQ:).

The ambitious restructuring, coupled with cost cuts, lifted the company’s quarterly operating margin to 8.5% in the reported quarter from 8.1% a year earlier.

FedEx executives expect the cost savings to more than offset headwinds from the upcoming expiration of the United States Postal Service (USPS) contract, in an environment where industrial production and parcel shipping demand remain weak.

“More consistency in execution, improving profitability, and thoughtful capital allocation are exactly what investors want, and FDX is delivering,” said Garrett Holland, equity analyst at Baird.

At least nine brokerages raised their price targets following the results.