Shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) were down on Tuesday after the shipping giant reported a slight Q1 earnings miss amid the coronavirus pandemic. Earnings Per Share were down. However, the company beat Wall Street expectations on revenue by a fair amount.
Shares were down during pre-market trading on Tuesday amid the news of UPS EPS miss. Wall Street had previously set a target of $1.23; UPS fell short at $1.15 in Q1. Shares of UPS dropped 5% on the news of the EPS miss. The pre-market drop did little to help UPS' share price, which has been down amid the coronavirus pandemic. Year to date, UPS' share price is down about 14%.
The shipping company's stock has weathered the pandemic a bit better than other companies more directly affected, however. Many businesses are currently closed as a result of social distancing orders to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has caused a drop in demand for shipping. UPS' relief, however slight it may be, is that some businesses remain open, and many of those stuck at home are ordering items online at an unprecedented volume, which has helped to cushion the fall of UPS' share price. Shipping to residences has taken up 70% of UPS' domestic volume amid the pandemic, which, while it may offer some relief, is not nearly as profitable as shipping to businesses.
UPS' net income was also down. Net income in Q1 was down to $965 million from $1.11 billion at Q1 in 2019. "Net income included material headwinds due to disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, higher self-insurance accruals and other items," said UPS in a release.
UPS' quarterly report wasn't all bad news. The company's revenue beat Wall Street expectations by a fair margin. Wall Street had previously set a target of $17.21 billion; at Q1, UPS came in at $18.04 billion.
Like many companies, UPS has retracted its guidance for 2020 as the pandemic continues to disrupt the global economy. "At this time, UPS is unable to predict the extent of the business impact or the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, or reasonably estimate its operating performance in future quarters," said UPS.