Cost cuts lift FedEx’s profits

Article Excerpt

FEDEX CORP. $246 is still a buy. The company (New York symbol FDX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 249.9 million; Market cap: $61.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.fedex.com) delivers packages and documents in the U.S. and 220 other countries. The re-opening of stores following pandemic lockdowns has hurt the volume of online shopping parcels. That’s partly why revenue in the company’s fiscal 2024 second quarter, ended November 30, 2023, fell 2.8%, to $22.17 billion from $22.81 billion a year earlier. However, savings from a cost-cutting plan lifted earnings by 25.5%, to $3.99 a share from $3.18. The stock trades at a reasonable 13.9 times the $17.75 a share that FedEx will probably earn for all of fiscal 2024. The $5.04 dividend also looks safe and yields 2.0%. What’s more, the company repurchased $500 million in shares in the latest quarter and will buy back another $1.0 billion by the end of fiscal 2024. FedEx is still a buy…