Expeditors’ earnings per share jump 62% to $2.65 in third quarter
Key Facts
Expeditors said on November 3 that diluted earnings per share reached $2.65 in the third quarter of 2026, up 62% from the same period in 2025, according to an investor relations statement. Revenue rose 42% to $4.1 billion, while net income attributable to shareholders increased 55% to $345 million. The results reflect growth in revenue and earnings alongside higher air and ocean freight volumes. Chief Executive Daniel Wool said strong demand for the company’s products and services was the primary driver of quarterly performance. The results follow strong growth in the second quarter, allowing a comparison of business momentum across the two periods.
Operating income reached $445 million in the third quarter, up 55% from the same quarter a year earlier, the company said. The growth coincided with a 1% increase in headcount year over year, while the chief financial officer said operating efficiency was 36.7%. He added that the ratio exceeded the company’s historical target of 30%. In discussing performance, Wool linked the quarter’s results to strong demand, saying demand from some customers, including hyperscale computing companies, exceeded the broader market level. This indicates the company attributed performance to demand for its services, not disruptions alone.
Air freight tonnage rose 13% and ocean container volume increased 7% year over year in the third quarter, according to the company’s statement. The picture for ocean freight differed from the second quarter, when container volume was unchanged from the corresponding period in 2025. Air freight tonnage had risen 14% in the second quarter before increasing 13% in the following quarter. The company said demand for air freight remained strong and global air freight tonnage reached a record level, up about 13% year over year. It attributed this global growth mainly to continued expansion in South Asia.
Expeditors’ revenue had risen 32% to $3.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, while net income attributable to shareholders increased 45% to $266 million. Diluted earnings per share at the time rose 51% to $2.03 compared with the second quarter of 2025. Also in the second quarter, the company said customs, transcon, distribution and order management each posted double-digit revenue growth for the second consecutive quarter. Wool said at the time that the company’s operational excellence strategy was helping it gain market share, while headcount remained nearly stable compared with the first quarter of 2026. These indicators place the third-quarter results within a trend of revenue and earnings growth accompanied by higher freight volumes.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, revenue was $10,392,946 thousand, up 27% from the same period in 2025. Diluted earnings per share for the period reached $6.38, up 43% year over year. This total covers performance over nine months and is therefore broader than third-quarter results alone. In the latest trading session before the results announcement, the company’s shares closed at $200.56 on November 2, according to EL7 data. This information alone does not establish the direction of the share price move after the results announcement.
On supply chains, Expeditors said significant congestion at major Asian ports and transshipment hubs affected ocean markets. The company expects congestion and supply chain challenges to continue through the rest of 2026. This outlook puts transport constraints among the factors that may affect freight operations in the coming period, after ocean container volume rose 7% in the third quarter. The company said it plans to hold an investor and analyst day on the morning of November 18, 2026, in New York. Its investor relations calendar also sets February 16, 2027, as the date for releasing fourth-quarter results.