UPS Q3 earnings beat: How it's planning for peak holiday season
United Parcel Service (UPS) posted third quarter revenue of $22.2 billion, beating estimates and snapping a 10-quarter miss streak on its top line. The freight shipper noted this to be a 5.6% year-over-year increase in its earnings release while adjusted earnings per share rose 12.1% annually to $1.76. "And it really is the outcome of a lot of effort to focus on revenue quality and growing the business and the segments that really matter to us," UPS Chief Financial Officer Brian Dykes tells Seana Smith and Madison Mills on Catalysts. On the earnings call, UPS CEO Carol Tomé stated the delivery service is "ready to deliver another successful holiday season and continue the progress we demonstrated in the third quarter." Dykes comments on the onboarding process for UPS's partnership with the United States Postal Service, becoming the primary air cargo shipper for the USPS, ahead of the peak holiday season. "Peak is our Super Bowl around here. So you know UPS starts planning at peak in February, and we are starting to ramp up our staffing to be able to support our customers during what will be a short holiday season," Dykes says. "But we continue to invest in technology that allows us to, one, hire faster and more efficiently, allow those resources to be more efficiently. We've altered the model so we'll be more using more helpers, more part time drivers to help manage the flex up and down, as well as the technology that we use within our hubs." Dykes expands on UPS's macro holiday forecast — taking into account consumer and retailer demands — as well as its business-to-business (B2B) segments. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
