FedEx shares slide as annual forecast cuts stoke worries on economy

Published: 2025-03-21 12:08:48 ET FDX

STORY: Shares of FedEx dropped as much as 12% Friday morning to a nearly 2-year low after the package delivery firm cut its annual forecasts.

The move raised worries about the health of U.S. manufacturing amid uncertainty from the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs on trading partners.

FedEx said it was navigating a very "challenging operating environment" and that "weakness in the industrial economy" was weighing on its higher-margin business-to-business volumes.

The company and its rival UPS are viewed as barometers for the global economy due to their involvement across a swathe of industries.

Shares of UPS fell as much as 4% Friday morning.

Analysts have said Trump's tariffs could trigger a recession and a trade war, further hammering demand for transportation and delivery services.

FedEx has been reducing costs as demand for lower-margin e-commerce deliveries from companies such as Temu and Shein outpaces higher-margin business-to-business shipments.

At least 10 brokerages cut their price targets on the company's stock on Friday.