FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Raj Subramaniam: Brandon, thanks for the question. The main issue in Express is the demand softness was most pronounced at Express. It had the highest revenue impact. You also know Express has the highest fixed cost structure. But we are making progress on the cost side. In Q1, the cost was up year-over-year, Q2 was flat. Q3, the costs are down $430 million year-over-year, and Q4 is going to get even better from there. We’re making progress on the air, as we’ve talked about before. We have — the single daily dispatch was launched in the U.S. Domestic Express operation in February. You’ll see the full impact of that for the quarter in Q4. And then, as we look ahead, we are fundamentally going to make this network much more agile and flexible and supported by technology. And when you — we will talk to you a little bit more about that at the April 5th meeting. Mike, I don’t know if you want anything to add to that, I think?

Mike Lenz: No. I think that covered. Thanks.

Raj Subramaniam: That covers it. Thank you.

Operator: Our next question is from Allison Poliniak of Wells Fargo.

Allison Poliniak-Cusic: I just want to ask on the Trans-Pacific lane, I know it’s an important lane for you. Just with all the dislocations, are you seeing any sort of structural shift away from that that concerns you? Are you moving? Just any color on what you’re seeing in that market would be great. Thanks.

Brie Carere: Yes. Hey. Great question. So we absolutely are having a lot of conversations with customers. They want to diversify their supply chain over the last several years. I think it’s important to remember the primary conversation that we’re having is about Mexico, and we have a fantastic value proposition out of Mexico. So, as customers do want to diversify, we are anywhere they need to be. So, we feel really good about that. But I do want to be clear that it is a future conversation. From a magnitude perspective, we do not see any short-term large shifts that would change the position of China being the world’s manufacturer. So, I don’t think that that’s an immediate issue. I do think it’s a future issue.

Operator: Our next question is from Ariel Rosa of Credit Suisse.

Ariel Rosa: Great. Hi. Good afternoon. And again, congrats on some of the progress here on the cost savings initiatives. I wanted to ask about Express margins. So obviously, we saw them a little bit challenged this quarter, and you said that they are likely to improve sequentially going into fourth quarter. But you set this target for 8% to 9% margins by fiscal €˜25. I just wanted to understand. What’s the confidence level in achieving that? And to what extent does that depend on seeing a return in some of the volumes or maybe a stabilization in the volume declines, please?

Mike Lenz: Sure, Ariel. So certainly, as the environment has evolved here in the last 6 to 9 months, that’s heightened our emphasis on efficiency and cost initiatives to realize margin improvement and drive improved returns on invested capital. And so, the DRIVE framework is allow — enabling us to relentlessly pursue these initiatives in a number of fronts. We talked about flexing the labor hours, the air network, the structure of the ground surface transport. So again, a lot of progress, more to go, but we’re very confident that Express can realize the full potential going forward.

Operator: Our next question is from Stephanie Moore of Jefferies.