FedEx Surges on Strong Earnings and Margin Improvement
FedEx's shares surged in premarket trading after the company beat estimates for quarterly profit and reported a higher operating margin at its Express unit. The company has taken measures to protect margins at Express, including reducing flight hours and efforts to fly fewer jets. FedEx also announced plans to buy back $500 million worth of its shares in the current quarter and approved a new $5-billion share repurchase program. The firm tightened its annual profit forecast and now expects earnings in the range of $17.25 to $18.25 per share. At least four brokerages raised their price targets on the stock, with shares of FedEx trading at 12.72 times forward profit estimates.