ATLANTA (AP) — United Parcel Service Inc. said Thursday that first-quarter profit rose 10 percent to $1.13 billion, helped by an increase in both ground shipments and next-day air deliveries in the United States.
The company beat Wall Street forecasts for profit, but revenue was lower than expected.
UPS is often considered a bellwether of the economy both in the U.S. and globally because of the number of shipments it handles between businesses and from businesses to consumers. The company's e-commerce business has grown with the boom in online shopping. Lately UPS has seen mixed signals, with growth slowing in emerging economies.
UPS has been adjusting prices — for example raising prices on bulky packages that are lightweight but take up space in trucks. And it has been reducing costs with driver-routing software and other measures.
The Atlanta-based company said it earned $1.27 per share in the first quarter, compared with $1.12 per share a year earlier.
The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.22 per share.
Revenue rose 3 percent to $14.42 billion, falling short of forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $14.58 billion.
About half of the increase in revenue came from the acquisition of Coyote Logistics, which boosted UPS' supply chain and freight segment.
UPS stood by an earlier forecast that full-year earnings will be between $5.70 and $5.90 per share, roughly in line with analysts' expectations.
The shares rose 89 cents to $107.35 in trading before Thursday's opening bell. They have climbed 11 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 2.5 percent. The stock is up more than 9 percent in the last 12 months.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UPS at http://www.zacks.com/ap/UPS
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Keywords: United Parcel Service, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings