FedEx stock ( FDX ) has been cut in half in 2022 — from $320 per share in mid-2021 to $152.96 as of Oct.19— in a volatile and generally painful year for investors.It’s the fifth time the stock has dropped more than 50% since its debut in the 1970s.
But it was in 1965 that the global logistics company got its start as the subject of a college term paper by founder and current executive chairman, Frederick W.Smith .
Smith named the company “Federal” Express because he envisioned shuttling checks overnight in bulk for the twelve regional Federal Reserve banks and their member banks.Smith even got a $3.6 million loan to buy two Pan Am jets for the proposed operation.But after this fell through, Smith pivoted to provide overnight delivery services for businesses and consumers, starting out in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1971.
In 1973, the company strategically moved to centrally-located Memphis, Tennessee, and by 1975, the now-ubiquitous drop boxes began popping up in businesses.
In 1978, Federal Express listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange after an IPO that priced them at $24 each under the ticker FDX.
After five 2-for-1 stock splits from 1978 to 1999, that IPO price is adjusted to 75 cents.
THAILAND – APRIL 10: Illustration On Fedex Sorting Center On April 10th, 1996 In Paris (Photo by Alain BUU/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) The company introduced the overnight letter in 1981, and in 1983, it became the first U.S.company to make $1 billion in sales within ten years of being a startup without the help of mergers or acquisitions.
Federal Express did take the M&A plunge in 1984 with its purchase of package courier Gelco Express, and it began its international expansion shortly thereafter.With its 1989 purchase of Tiger International for $883 million, it became the largest full-service cargo airline in the world .
In 1994, after nearly two decades of expansion, FedEx took on the company name we know today and was organized into nine divisions : FedEx Corporation, Acquisitions, FedEx Express, FedEx Services, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office, FedEx Logistics, and FedEx Dataworks.
Story continues The global pandemic wreaked havoc on global supply chains and strained logistics companies the world over.However, FedEx has since eclipsed most of its pre-pandemic milestones.
A FedEx driver delivers a box containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I, Monday, Dec.14, 2020.(AP Photo/David Goldman) FedEx brought in $45.8 billion in revenue over the fiscal year 2022, with average revenue per domestic U.S.Express package shooting up to $20.15, according to its latest annual statement .
While average volumes of Express packages peaked in 2021 at 3.28 million per day, FedEx Ground shipments had a record year, delivering 4.55 million packages per day to businesses and 4.22 million per day to homes.
In September, FDX suffered its worst one-day drop ever of 21.4% after withdrawing its full fiscal year earnings guidance and delivering preliminary first-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations.
FedEx is set to announce fiscal second-quarter earnings on December 20, 2022.
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Jared Blikre is a reporter focused on the markets on Yahoo Finance Live.Follow him @SPYJared .
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