Episode summary
FedEx Slips After First Earnings Since Spinoff | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · 22 min · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu · Guests: Lee Klaskow, Ryan Ward, Linda Cohn
Summary
FedEx shares were under pressure after the company’s first earnings report since spinning off its freight unit, even though the print showed cost controls starting to pay off and demand holding up better than expected. The analyst said FedEx benefited from its B2B exposure, including business tied to data centers, and noted that higher fuel costs did not cause much demand destruction. The main concern was guidance: the company’s first calendar-year outlook topped out at $18.10, which the analyst said was slightly below whisper numbers and may have confused investors as FedEx shifts to a regular calendar reporting schedule.
The conversation then turned to how AI is changing weather forecasting. A guest said AI hurricane models were deployed for the first time in 2025 and outperformed long-established models, including in forecasting Hurricane Melissa. He said that result was especially striking because Melissa was not in the training data, yet the model still nailed the storm’s intensity and path.
The final segment focused on Linda Cohn’s retirement after 34 years at ESPN. She reflected on the rise of the SportsCenter ticker, the growth of sports television, and the way her background as a radio host and former teen hockey goalie shaped her approach. She argued that younger broadcasters can still stand out by being prepared, writing well, and connecting naturally with fans even as streaming and AI reshape the business.
Key takeaways
- The analyst said FedEx’s fiscal fourth quarter showed cost controls paying off and demand staying relatively intact despite higher fuel costs.
- The analyst said FedEx’s $18.10 top-end calendar-year guide may have landed a bit below whisper numbers and helped pressure the stock.
- The weather guest said AI hurricane models beat legacy models and accurately handled Hurricane Melissa even though it was outside the training set.
- The weather guest said El Nino should reduce Atlantic hurricane counts, with NOAA expecting roughly three to six storms this year versus a long-run average near seven.
- Linda Cohn said the biggest edge for younger broadcasters is strong writing, preparation, and a conversational style that connects with viewers.
Notable quotes
“They also painted a relatively um okay demand uh picture for us. uh they noted that you know they didn't see much demand destruction from higher fuel costs”
“they provided their first calendar year uh outlook because they were on a physical calendar. Now, they're going on a regular good oldfashioned calendar uh reporting schedule”
“the Google DeepMind model which is an AI based model did better than every other hurricane model”
“you can also channel that into, okay, you be smart. You know what you're talking about. Uh, be prepared. You have to be prepared”
How the episode opens
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FedEx reported some numbers last night. Um, I thought there was some pretty good numbers given what's going on out there in the world. The stock's kind of unchanged on the day.
It's up 35% year to date. Let's break it down because we all deal with FedEx almost on a daily basis it seems like. Lee Klascal, senior transport logistics and shipping analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.
He's also host of a weekly podcast, Bloomberg Intelligence talking transports. Lee, talk to us about FedEx. What did we learn uh from their earnings?
Yeah, hey Paul. I thought they did a pretty good uh print for their fiscal fourth quarter. Um, you know, what they've been able to show is that their uh cost controls.
They've had a a number of different programs in place uh that are really starting to uh pay off uh and that kind of helped them uh with their beat. They also painted a relatively um okay demand uh picture for us. uh they noted that you know they didn't see much demand destruction from higher fuel costs which is uh you know a very good thing to hear.
Uh and also they mentioned their B2B business has been uh benefiting from the built out of data centers and all the stuff that goes into that. You know they're helping bringing uh those technologies uh to the places where they're building those centers. So, you know, they pointed to, you know, decent um topline growth.
Uh and also, you know, what they also did, which is kind of probably why the stock is uh down so much over the last uh 24 hours is is, you know, they provided their first calendar year uh outlook because they were on a physical calendar.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- fedex earnings
- logistics spinoff
- ai weather forecasting
- hurricane melissa
- espn retirement
Companies and tickers mentioned
- FDX
- DIS
- FedEx
- ESPN
Watch the episode
Watch “FedEx Slips After First Earnings Since Spinoff | Bloomberg Intelligence” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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