UPS Beats on Q4 Earnings, Stock Down on Lackluster 2025 Revenue View

United Parcel Service UPS reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 74 cents per share) of $2.75, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.52 and improved 11.3% year over year. Despite the earnings beat, the stock tumbled in pre-market trading, primarily due to the dull revenue guidance for 2025.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.For full-year 2025, on a consolidated basis, UPS expects revenues to be $89 billion, way below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $94.6 billion. UPS is looking to lower exposure to its largest customer and has decided to cut business by 50%. To this end, management announced that UPS has reached an agreement in principle with its largest customer to lower the volume by more than 50% by the second half of 2026.United Parcel Service Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise United Parcel Service, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | United Parcel Service, Inc. QuoteOther Aspects of UPS’ Q4 Earnings ReportRevenues of $25.3 billion marginally fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $25.33 billion but increased 1.5% year over year.U.S. Domestic Package revenues of $17.3 billion grew 2.2% year over year, driven by a 2.4% increase in revenue per piece and rise in air cargo. The actual segmental sales figure was a bit higher than our estimation of $17.2 billion. Segmental operating profit (adjusted) grew 10.8% year over year to $1.75 billion. The adjusted operating margin for the segment was 10.1%.Revenues in the International Package division summed $4.9 billion, which increased 6.9% year over year, owing to an 8.8% increase in average daily volumes. The actual segmental sales figure was higher than our estimation of $4.8 billion. Segmental operating profit (adjusted) totaled $1.06 billion, up 18.1% year over year. The adjusted operating margin for the segment was 21.6%.Supply Chain Solutions revenues of $3.06 billion decreased 9.1% year over year, due to the divestiture of Coyote. The actual segmental sales figure was lower than our estimation of $3.3 billion. Operating profit (on an adjusted basis) fell 7.7% to $284 million. The adjusted operating margin for the segment was 9.3%.The overall adjusted operating profit in the final quarter of 2024 was $3.1 billion. The overall adjusted operating margin was 12.3%.Remainder of UPS’ 2025 OutlookAdjusted operating margin is expected to be 10.8%. Capital expenditures of about $3.5 billion are expected to be incurred in the current year. UPS expects to make dividend payments of around $5.5 billion and buy back shares worth $1 billion in 2025. The effective tax rate is expected to be 23.5%.Q4 Performances of Other Transportation CompaniesDelta (DAL) reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 56 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.85 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.76. Earnings increased 44.5% on a year-over-year basis due to low fuel costs.DAL’s revenues of $15.56 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.99 billion and increased 9.4% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong holiday travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) was $14.4 billion, up 5.7% year over year. First-quarter 2025 earnings are expected to nearly double from first-quarter 2024 actuals. For full-year 2025, management expects earnings per share on an adjusted basis to be greater than $7.35, indicating an increase of more than 19% from 2024 actuals.J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $1.53, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.62. However, the bottom line increased 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.  JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3.15 billion narrowly beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.13 billion but declined 4.8% year over year. This decline was mainly due to lower fuel surcharge revenues and yield pressure in its Intermodal segment.JBHT’s fourth-quarter 2024 operating revenues of $2.78 billion, excluding fuel surcharge revenues, decreased 2% from the year-ago reported quarter. Total operating income for the reported quarter increased 2% year over year to $207 million.United Airlines UAL reported solid fourth-quarter 2024 results, with both earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate.Quarterly earnings per share (excluding 31 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.26 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.01. The bottom line increased 63% on a year-over-year basis. UAL expects first-quarter 2025 earnings between 75 cents and $1.25.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL): Free Stock Analysis Report J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT): Free Stock Analysis Report United Parcel Service, Inc. 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