The delivery giant posted $1.07 adjusted EPS against a $1.02 estimate, but net income fell from $1.19 billion to $864 million
First-quarter 2026 results from UPS showed revenue of $21.2 billion alongside adjusted earnings per share of $1.07, though net income slipped to $864 million compared with $1.19 billion a year ago. The company's shares were trading down close to 3% before the opening bell.
Analysts had projected $1.02 in adjusted earnings per share and $20.99 billion in revenue, according to CNBC.
Stripping out the adjustment, per-share earnings stood at $1.02 on a GAAP basis, a step down from the $1.40 recorded in the year-earlier quarter. After-tax transformation charges of $42 million, equal to $0.05 per diluted share, weighed on the results.
Volume headwinds the company had anticipated dragged domestic segment revenue down 2.3% to $14.1 billion, and operating profit contracted sharply, falling to $515 million from $979 million in the prior-year period. Revenue per piece grew 6.5%. International segment revenue rose 3.8% to $4.5 billion, supported by a 10.7% increase in revenue per piece, though operating profit declined to $547 million from $641 million.
Through the end of March, roughly $600 million in cost reductions had been captured under UPS's network reconfiguration and efficiency initiative, with the company projecting that figure will grow to $3 billion on a full-year basis by the close of 2026.
CEO Carol Tomé framed the period as a pivotal moment in a statement accompanying the results. "The first quarter of 2026 marked a critical transition period for UPS in which we needed to flawlessly execute several major strategic actions and we delivered," she said. "With that behind us, we expect to return to consolidated revenue and operating profit growth, and adjusted operating margin expansion in the second quarter of this year."
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, UPS stood by its prior forecast, which calls for consolidated revenue of roughly $89.7 billion and a non-GAAP adjusted operating margin of approximately 9.6%. The company also confirmed expected capital expenditures of about $3.0 billion and dividend payments of about $5.4 billion, subject to board approval.
