All the key numbers at Expeditors International pointed upward in the third quarter at the logistics and freight forwarding company.
Revenue year-on-year was up 42%, to $4.1 billion at the asset-light customs broker and freight forwarder.
Despite the fact that the cost of transportation rose 49%, a faster rate than revenues, and salaries climbed 15%, operating income rose 55% to $445.4 million, up from $288 million a year ago.
Diluted earnings per share were up 61% to $2.65 per share.
According to SeekingAlpha, that EPS figure beat consensus estimates by 42 cts/share, while the revenue of $4.11 billion was higher than consensus estimates by $510 million.
Stock doesn’t move higher
Despite topping those forecasts, Expeditors’ (NYSE: EXPD) stock in early trading showed little positive reaction. At approximately 9:50 a.m. EST, it was down 0.76%, or $1.52, to $199.04. The stock is trading at about a 28.9 P/E ratio for the trailing twelve months, which is considered slightly higher than the market as a whole.
But the company’s stock had a strong run for several months. Coming into Tuesday’s trading, Expeditors was up about 3.9% in the last month, 17.2% in the last three months and 63.3% in the last year, according to data from Barchart.
Volume picked up significantly for Expeditors as the quarter wore on. The year-over-year increase for airfreight was 8% in July, 13% in August and 19% in September, for an overall increase of 13%.
The growth rates in ocean freight were smaller but still ended up higher than they started. The July and August increase was 5%, with an increase in September of 12%. The overall increase in ocean freight was 12%.
More workers
Employee headcount rose slightly year-on-year. The total was 20,463, up from 20,170 a year ago, an increase of 1.4%. But there were declines in Global Technology–down to 1,151 from 1,483–and corporate, which dropped to 396 workers from 419.
Expeditors does not conduct an earnings call with analysts.
In the prepared statement released with the earnings, CEO Daniel Wall said Expeditors’ market share has been rising, “particularly in markets where we have made a strategic focus.”
Expeditors’ strong performance in the past 1.5 years has been attributed in part to its knowledge of tariffs and how they work, a strength that has been particularly valuable in times where such levies have been implemented and taken off in rapid succession.
“While we have thrived during periods of significant disruption throughout our history, the strength of demand for our products and services is what really drove Q3 performance,” Wall said.
AI tailwinds
He also cited the AI boom as a reason for the strong performance. .
“Demand from certain customers, such as the hyperscalers, has been outpacing the market overall, but we have been very deliberate to expand our customer base across our global network and further diversify our revenues.
On the specific growth areas, Wall said airfreight demand was helped by “record global air tonnage,” citing South Asia as a key market. Wall cited “hyperscaler demand.” “Air capacity remains constrained by limited fleet expansion and ongoing new aircraft delivery delays,” he added.
Wall also said U.S.-China e-commerce trade, which was impacted by the elimination of the U.S. break on de minimis imports, is back to the levels it was before the May 2025 shift in policy.”
“Adding geopolitical events to this mix, airfreight rates remained elevated during the quarter, with demand outpacing available capacity,” Wall said.
The ocean freight part of Expeditors’ business was impacted by three Asian typhoons, Wall said. But “the strength of our global network and world class operating teams enabled us to maintain service continuity and respond effectively as conditions deteriorated,” he added.
More articles by John Kingston
FMCSA’s Elison addresses Motus again, still no date on full repair
Waiting on EPA ‘27 rule, Rush says it might not be soon
TFI chief Bedard rips into its US LTL operations, promises change
