DHL Group recorded strong earnings growth during the third quarter, reflecting the continued resilience of global trade despite geopolitical headwinds, the ability to pass through rising fuel costs to customers and the targeting of high-margin industry verticals, such as healthcare and data centers.
DHL, headquartered in Bonn, Germany,(XETRA: DHL) reported revenue of $25.36 billion, a gain of 12.6% from the same period a year earlier. Operating profit increased 16.2% to $1.9 billion, led by the Express, Forwarding and Supply Chain divisions, with the profit margin inching up to 7.6%. Diluted earnings per share were up 8.5%
The company last month adjusted up full-year earnings before interest and taxes to $7.8 billion), topping its earlier outlook for $7.3 billion from core operations. It also raised its projection for free cash flow to $3.6 billion from $3.37 billion earlier.
DHL Express earnings before interest and taxes soared 50% to $1.16 billion, benefitting from a 9.7% increase in transported weight per day, disciplined pricing and capacity management, along with structural cost improvements implemented over the past two years. Gain in transported weight stems from the recent strategy of offering industrial shippers greater access to the company’s time-definite, international air network to move heavy shipments, which command higher rates than parcels and improve utilization of the company’s cargo aircraft.
“There is a customer need for highly reliable on-time delivery of certain industrial, quite often heavier parts. This proposition creates value for our customers and profitable growth for us, and we see it as a multi-year, almost structural growth opportunity, targeting dedicated pockets of the very large cross-border B2B market,” said Chief Financial Officer Melanie Kreis during the earnings presentation.
DHL also benefitted from temporary capacity constraints in the international market related to Iran war rerouting and hyperscaler demand, which generated additional demand for its freighters and enabled higher yields. DHL likely captured shipments from Middle East carriers as well as ocean diversion due to shipping risks through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. The spillover of shipments due to the shortage of space amounted to about $112 million in extra EBIT, down from more than $167 million in the second quarter when disruptions were greater.
Demand surcharges that went into effect Oct. 1 for the peak season and the usual general rate increase in January are expected to help maintain yields.
Why It Matters: DHL Group is one of the largest freight logistics companies in the world and its performance gives insights into what is happening in global trade writ large.
DHL Global Forwarding significantly increased revenue and operating profit (+32.7%) compared with the prior-year quarter. Air freight volumes grew 12%, with particular strength on trade lanes originating in Asia. Ocean freight growth of 5% was primarily driven by higher volumes from Asia and Europe.
On Monday, DHL Global Forwarding appointed Sascha Geiken as CEO for sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa. He previously served as vice president ocean freight for Middle East and Africa.
The contract logistics division recorded revenue growth across all regions. The Americas business made a particularly important contribution, including in the technology and online retail sectors. Strong new contract wins in those areas provide a solid basis for future growth, DHL said. The division continues to invest in automation, digitalization, and additional capacity to support its customers with modern logistics processes.
DHL eCommerce generated organic revenue growth of about 6%. Reported revenue was affected by portfolio changes, particularly deconsolidation in the United Kingdom and Portugal. The decline in reported EBIT versus the prior-year figure was primarily due to positive one-off effects of $137 million in the third quarter of 2025. The division continues to integrate recent acquisitions while continuously optimizing its networks and processes.
The domestic and international parcel business continued to support Post & Parcel Germany’s performance. Parcel volume development was impacted, among other factors, by the abolition of the de minimis exemption in the European Union as of July 1 this year. At the same time, the structural decline in mail volumes continued. Higher costs for personnel, energy, and transportation put additional pressure on operating profit.
Management said the goal is to take the revenue momentum from favorable market conditions and translate it into sustainable growth by building greater capabilities in strategic focus areas with the highest growth potential. Global trade patterns are shifting, but trade is not slowing down, and is projected to grow faster through 2029 than many thought after the U.S.-led tariff increases or the start of the Iran war. And shippers are attracted to integrated logistics providers because they have global networks and operational flexibility to help them adapt to shifting trade flows.
DHL is investing heavily in life sciences & healthcare, electric vehicles and battery storage, e-commerce, data center logistics and dynamic geographic regions to achieve materially higher growth than possible just by riding macroeconomic tides. FedEx and UPS are similarly focusing more on end-to-end logistics for customers in some of the same high-margin industrial verticals.
Data centers were a big driver of DHL’s third quarter performance, underscoring its ability to provide an integrated freight transportation product across all modes for highly demanding customers, the finance chief said. Most of the data center business so far is for air freight, but DHL Supply Chain is picking up new customers to help with equipment storage, delivery and installation.
Much of the strength in global trade is coming from the AI boom. Computers and other equipment for cloud computing expansion accounted for 42% of global goods growth in 2025 and about 76% during the first quarter of 2026, according to a DHL report last month that relied on data from the World Trade Organization and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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