Shares of United Parcel Service Inc. jumped 4.7% into record territory in premarket trading Tuesday, after the package delivery giant reported first-quarter profit and revenue that were well above expectations. Net income was $4.79 billion, as earnings per share climbed 393% from the year-ago period to $5.47. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as a $2.4 billion mark-to-market pension benefit, adjusted earnings per share came to $2.77, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.72. Total revenue grew 27% to $22.91 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $20.57 billion. U.S. domestic revenue rose 22% to $14.01 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $12.93 billion; international revenue grew 23% to $4.61 billion, beating expectations of $4.13 billion; and supply chain and freight revenue increased 34% to $4.29 billion, beating expectations of $3.90 billion. “During the quarter, we continued to execute our strategy under the better not bigger framework, which enabled us to win the best opportunities in the market and drove record financial results,” said Chief Executive Carol Tomé. UPS said it wasn’t providing full-year EPS or revenue guidance given continued economic uncertainty. The stock, which was on track to open well above its April 16 record close of $179.71, has gained 4.4% year to date through Monday, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average has run up 20.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced 11.0%.
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