FedEx Corp shares fell about 17% in the extended session Thursday after the logistics company withdrew its forecast for the year, called for significantly lower quarterly earnings and lower revenue, and said fiscal 2023 is about to get worse.
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He said the first fiscal quarter was affected by lower trading volumes globally, a trend that worsened towards the end of the quarter. Business conditions are expected to “further weaken” in the second quarter of the fiscal year.
The company called for adjusted preliminary earnings for the first quarter of the fiscal year of $3.44 per share on sales of $23.3 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet expect the company to report adjusted earnings per share of $5.14 on sales of $23.6 billion in the first quarter when it submits a full financial report on September 22. FedEx said it will provide an updated outlook and details of its cost-cutting plans next.
FedEx blamed “macroeconomic weakness” in Asia and “service challenges” in Europe for a $500 million revenue shortfall in these regions. Furthermore, the company said revenue from FedEx Ground is about $300 million less than the company’s expectations.
FedEx pledged to cut costs “aggressively” and said it was considering other ways to “boost productivity.”
Among other steps, FedEx said it will close more than 90 FedEx office locations as well as five corporate offices, and postpone new hires.
Just three months ago, FedEx gives investors a more optimistic view for the fiscal year 2023.
In June, the company said its FedEx Express business had improved in part thanks to additional fuel surcharges. But it already warned at the time that volumes were low globally due to pandemic lockdowns and economic and geopolitical uncertainty in Asia and beyond. It also reported lower operating results for FedEx Ground.
Besides withdrawing its forecast for fiscal year 2023, FedEx called for second-quarter fiscal revenue of between $23.5 billion and $24 billion, and an earnings per share adjustment of $2.75 “or more.” This contrasts with an EPS forecast of $5.48 with $24.9 billion in sales for the quarter, according to FactSet.
FedEx cut capital spending to $6.3 billion, compared to a previous forecast of $6.8 billion. The company maintained its $1.5 billion share buyback plan, saying it expects to buy back $1 billion in the second quarter of the fiscal year.
FedEx stock has lost 21% so far this year, compared to losses of about 16% for the S&P 500 Index. SPX,
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