UPS revenue tops estimates as pandemic drives e-commerce deliveries

KEY POINTS

• United Parcel Service topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Tuesday
• The world's biggest parcel delivery company benefited from a surge in online purchases during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• UPS has been experiencing a boom in e-commerce deliveries as consumers staying at home during the pandemic order everything from exercise bikes to sofas.

An employee sorts packages at the United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) Chicago Area Consolidation Hub in Hodgkins, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017.

Daniel Acker / Bloomberg / Getty Images

United Parcel Service topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Tuesday, as the world's biggest parcel delivery company benefited from a surge in online purchases during the Covid-19 pandemic, sending its shares up 6%.

UPS has been experiencing a boom in e-commerce deliveries as consumers staying at home during the pandemic order everything from exercise bikes to sofas.

Rival Deutsche Post last month raised its medium-term financial targets, predicting that the boom in e-commerce driven by the coronavirus outbreak would continue and world trade would gradually recover.

UPS, which is also delivering Covid-19 vaccines, said revenue in its U.S. domestic unit rose 22.3%, led by growth from small- and medium-sized businesses.

Excluding items, the company earned $2.77 per share.

Total revenue rose 27% to $22.9 billion, beating estimates of $20.49 billion, according to Refinitiv data.