FedEx Corporation is a popular multinational delivery services company from America, which is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The name is an abbreviation of the company’s original air division, Federal Express, which was in use from 1973 to 2000. The company is best known for its overnight shipping service and well-equipped system that allows users to track their packages in real-time. The organization is also one of the top contractors of the U.S. government.
Inception
The company was founded by Frederick W. Smith, a graduate from Yale Business School in 1971 as Federal Express Corporation. He got the idea from one of the term papers at Yale in which he designed a system for urgent deliveries. In 1973, Smith moved to Memphis because the city is almost near the center of the country, and Memphis International Airport always remains open irrespective of inclement weather.
Federal Express Corporation grew rapidly, and the company had billion dollars in revenue by the end of 1983. The following year, it expanded in Europe and Asia. The company acquired Flying Tiger Line in 1998, which was the largest full-service cargo airline in the world. In 1994, the company shortened its name to “FedEx” for branding and marketing purposes.
In 1998, the company reorganized itself as a holding company and began its operations by acquiring Caliber System Inc. Later, FedEx started offering new services other than just delivering products. Some subsidiaries of Caliber include RPS, a small-package ground service, Viking Freight, a regional, less-than-truckload freight carrier, Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology, providers of logistics and technology services, and many more.
In 2000, the company changed its name to FedEx Corporation from FDX Corporation and also rebranded all its subsidiaries such as RPS became FedEx Ground; Federal Express became FedEx Express, Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology were merged to form FedEx Global Logistics. In the same year, the company acquired an international logistics firm Tower Group International, a tax information company WorldTariff and combined them to form FedEx Trade Networks.
Evolution
In 2004, the company bought privately held Kinko’s, Inc and changed its name to FedEx Kinko’s. After the acquisition, it offered only FedEx shipping in all the locations of Kinko’s. In 2008, they further changed the name to FedEx Office. The company also bought a parcel consolidator, Parcel Direct, and rebranded it FedEx SmartPost.
In 2013, Henry Maier succeeded David Rebholz to become the CEO and President of FedEx Ground. The following year, the company was indicted for distributing controlled substances in cooperation with the Chhabra-Smoley Organization and Superior Drugs. However, due to lack of evidence, the case of dismissed by the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office.
FedEx bought the rival company TNT Express in 2015 for $4.8 billion to expand its operations in Europe. They also launched FedEx Cares, a global giving platform, to strengthen more than 200 communities. They further expanded their portfolio and acquired a last-mile delivery service, 2P Mailing Limited. The company expanded FedEx Ground U.S. operations to six days per week due to the rise in demand for e-commerce.
In 2019, the FedEx Trade Networks was renamed and rebranded to FedEx Logistics. In the same year, the authorities in China filed a case against the company for allegedly undermining the rights of Chinese clients. FedEx refused to deliver a used Huawei phone into the U.S. and was accused of holding back more than 100 packages that Huawei was trying to deliver to China. At the same time, the company did not renew $850 million contracts with Amazon for the domestic express delivery business.
Awards & Achievements
In 2013, FedEx was named as one of the top 100 companies to work for. From 1997 to 2002, the company was the title sponsor of the Champ Car World Series when it was known as CART. It also sponsored the No. 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota, formula One teams Benetton, Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams F1.
FedEx was the title sponsor of the Orange Bowl from 1989 to 2010. It also sponsors FedExForum, the Heineken Cup in Rugby, FedEx Cup, a championship trophy for the PGA Tour, golf tournament The St. Jude Classic, and the UEFA Europa League.
Net Worth of FedEx in 2024
As of April 2024, FedEx has an estimated net worth of more than $60 billion. The net income of the company in 2018 was $4.5 billion, and the total equity is valued at $19 billion.
FedEx Corp is the 79th largest campaign contributor in the United States, having donated over $29.8 million to federal candidates and committees since 1989. In 2018, the firm was listed as one of the largest United States corporations by total revenue by the Fortune 500 magazine.
The company has several operating units, including FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Logistics, FedEx Services, FedEx Office, and many more.
FedEx is one of the largest delivery services companies in the world. The company was started by one individual, and now it has more than 425k employees working for them in various parts of the world.