SMB Demand Drives UPS Q3 Revenue Jump

With the rising demand from small businesses during the pandemic, UPS has reported a third quarter revenue of $21.2 billion, an increase of 15.9 percent from a year prior, according to a press release.

“Our performance highlights the agility of our global integrated network amid the ongoing challenges of the pandemic,” said Carol Tomé, UPS CEO, in the release. “Our results were fueled by continued strong outbound demand from Asia and growth from small- and medium-sized businesses. UPSers are everyday heroes who are keeping the world’s supply chains moving. I want to thank our team for their ongoing commitment to our customers and the communities we serve.”

In addition, the consolidated average daily volume increased by 13.5 percent year over year, while net income was $2 billion for the quarter, an increase of 11.8 percent from the same time in 2019, according to the release. Operating profit was $2.4 billion, an increase of 11 percent from the previous year.

Diluted earnings per share was $2.24, and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $2.28, up 10.1 percent from Q3 2019.

UPS Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman said the approach the company took was a “better, not bigger” one in light of the pandemic’s challenges, which “had a positive impact on our performance in the quarter, specifically through the revenue-quality actions we’ve taken. Additionally, we recently launched new initiatives to further reduce our costs. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we are collaborating with our customers and using our proven tools to control volume and ensure the resiliency of our network. We are focused on delivering a successful peak and generating cash returns.”

To help with the increased demand of the pandemic, in which people were using delivery services much more often as opposed to buying things in person, UPS added a peak surcharge, putting an extra 30 cents on some packages in a similar way to how it’s done around the holiday season.