SA: Expeditors Q2 '20 update – EPS beats by $0.41, beats on revenue

• Diluted Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders per share (EPS¹) increased 24% to $1.09
• Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders increased 20% to $184 million
• Operating Income increased 29% to $248 million
• Revenues increased 27% to $2.6 billion
• Airfreight tonnage volume decreased 10% and ocean container volume decreased 14%

“Like so many companies, the COVID-19-related impacts to our business have been significant and widespread, as the retail, auto, aviation, energy and other sectors continued to be severely disrupted by shutdowns and supply chain dislocations,” said Jeffrey S. Musser, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“While volumes for all of our products were down, as we would have expected during such unprecedented conditions, our airfreight revenue was much greater than anticipated. The air market has been particularly unsettled, with the cancellation of so many passenger flights limiting access to passenger belly space and requiring the increased use of charters to meet customer needs.

“While air capacity has been tight, demand for shipping technology-related equipment, medical equipment and supplies and other priority goods has been intense, creating a supply and demand imbalance and a spike in buy and sell rates. Our employees’ ability to perform at an extremely high level during such turmoil attests to our strong relationships with our customers and carriers, as we were able to access capacity and execute well under such trying conditions. Airfreight buy and sell rates, which peaked in April and May and started to decline in June, remain highly volatile and continue to be unpredictable.”