FedEx reported quarterly earnings and revenue that edged above Wall Street's expectations on Wednesday as the courier company cut costs and its lower-priced ground shipping business did well.
After the earnings announcement, the package delivery company's shares climbed in pre-market trade. (Click here to get the latest quote.)
The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive volume of goods it moves around the world, earned $489 million, or $1.53 a share for first quarter that ended Aug. 31, up from $459 million, or $1.45 a share last year.
Revenue increased 2 percent to $11 billion from $10.79 billion a year ago.
Analysts had expected FedEx to report earnings excluding items of $1.50 a share on $10.97 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
"FedEx Express remains focused on reducing costs while facing challenging global economic conditions," Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "Meanwhile, FedEx Ground continues to generate strong profitability on growing customer demand for its services."
The company reaffirmed its full-year earnings per share growth forecast of 7 percent to 13 percent from last year's adjusted results. The outlook assumes the market outlook for fuel prices, 2.1 percent U.S. gross domestic product growth and world GDP growth of 2.6 percent. The capital spending forecast for fiscal 2014 remains $4 billion.