Volume continues to surge at UPS to start the year

Updated: Apr 27, 2021 / 07:10 AM CDT

A UPS driver delivers packages in Philadelphia, Monday, April 26, 2021. A surge in the volume of deliveries that arrived with the start of the pandemic has not eased at UPS, where consolidated average daily volume jumped 14.3% in the first quarter. The Atlanta company on Tuesday, April 27 posted earnings of $4.79 billion, or $5.47 per share. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

ATLANTA (AP) — A surge in the volume of deliveries that arrived with the start of the pandemic has not eased at UPS, where consolidated average daily volume jumped 14.3% in the first quarter.

The Atlanta company on Tuesday posted earnings of $4.79 billion, or $5.47 per share. Per-share profits with one time gains or losses removed were $2.77 per share, far exceeding Wall Street projections for $1.67, according to survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Those one time gains included a pension benefit of $2.5 billion. The passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 last month means big employers get protection against insolvency of their pension plans. That reduced UPS’ pension liability by $6.4 billion.

Revenue was $22.91 billion, also easily beating expectations handily.

Shares, up 75% in the last 12 months, surged 8% before the opening bell which could mean an all time high for the company’s stock Tuesday if that trend holds.

A portion of this story was generated by Automated Insights (https://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UPS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UPS