Fedex shares plunged 18% as it flags hit from economic slowdown, withdraws outlook.FedEx Corp on Thursday said its fiscal first-quarter results were hit by a global volume softness that accelerated at the end of the period, and withdrew its financial forecast, saying it expected further deterioration of business conditions in the fiscal second quarter.
FedEx said it expects business conditions to further weaken in the second quarter despite ongoing cost-reduction actions.
Providing preliminary results for its fiscal first quarter, the U.S. delivery giant said softness in global volumes of its shipments caused a revenue shortfall of $500 million for its FedEx Express unit.
The company in its last quarter reported higher quarterly earnings.
FedEx implemented price hikes for its shipments during the pandemic. However, a slowdown in the economy and cooling demand for its services would mean that the delivery firm would have to find a way to reduce costs.
FedEx said it now expects its capital spend for fiscal year 2023 to be $6.3 billion, compared to its prior forecast of $6.8 billion.