FedEx Corporation (FDX): what the price assumes

In the published model solve dated 2026-Q2, anchored at $330.88, FedEx Corporation (FDX) is priced for +0.0% growth. boothcheck publishes no house fair value, target price, or buy/sell rating; individual model outputs and user-controlled scenarios are analytical inputs, not Boothcheck targets. Narrative composed 2026-07-26.

Generated: 2026-08-30 · Source: https://boothcheck.com/report/FDX

Headline

FieldValue
TickerFDX
CompanyFedEx Corporation
Sector / IndustryIndustrials
Current price$330.88/sh
CompositionFederal Express - U.S. priority package 12% / Federal Express - U.S. deferred package 6% / Federal Express - U.S. ground package 39% / Federal Express - International priority package 10% / Federal Express - International economy package 6% / Federal Express - International domestic package 5% / Federal Express - U.S. freight 1% / Federal Express - International priority freight 3% / Federal Express - International economy freight 2% / Federal Express - Other 1% / FedEx Freight segment 9% / Other and eliminations 4%

What The Price Assumes (Inversion)

The assumption today's price embeds, recovered by inverting the valuation.

FieldValue
Inversion basiswhole-company
Operating margin (value-band context)2.4%
Operating margin today5.8%
Margin compression (value-band)-3.4pp
Implied growth0.0%
Multiple paid20x operating income

The operating-margin figure is value-band context at year 12: derived from the framework's value band, a separate calculation — not part of the priced-in solve.

Solve inputs: computed at a 7% cost of capital with 4% terminal growth over a 5-year stage (computed at the 7% minimum rate; the CAPM rate 6.8% sits below it).

How unusual the bet is: within-range (limited comparison data)

ReferenceValue
vs own history-0.30σ
cohort percentile (of 225 peers)50

Valuation X-Ray

The price is justified by relative-multiple and growth-DCF; earnings-power land below the price.

How the valuation models price the stock relative to the market price. Price/FV above 1.0 means the market pays more than that lens defends (expensive); at or below 1.0 the lens can defend the price.

FamilyMedian price/FVModelsReads
Asset1.40x5expensive
Earnings2.19x4expensive
Relative1.06x2expensive
Growth0.81x3justifies

Families that justify the price: Relative, Growth Families that call it expensive: Earnings

The models below discount at their own flat-beta convention rates (cost of equity 9.3%, WACC 7.4%); the inversion above states its own rate.

Per-Model Detail (n=14)

ModelFamilyFVPrice/FVApplicableMethodology
DCF Perpetual GrowthGrowth$643.340.51xyesFCF base $5.5B, growth 8% (input: historical growth), terminal g 4.0%, WACC 7.4%, 6yr projection
DCF Exit MultipleGrowth$410.750.81xyesExit EV/EBITDA: 8.8x / 10.8x / 12.8x (bear / base = today's held flat / bull), 6yr
Relative ValuationRelativenoP/E 18x (static sector reference · 2026-04), scenarios: 15.0x / 18.0x / 21.0x (bear / base = reference held flat / bull), EV/EBITDA 12x
Simple DDMGrowthno
Two-Stage DDMGrowthno
Simple Excess ReturnAsset$202.571.63xyesBV/sh $133.77, ROE (TTM) 14.0%, ke 9.3%
Two-Stage Excess ReturnAsset$246.701.34xyes5yr excess ROE then converge to ke=9.3%
Discounted Future Market CapGrowth$273.441.21xyesRev $94.7B, growth 8% (input: historical growth; tapered), Terminal P/S: 0.7x / 0.8x / 1.0x (bear / base = today's held flat / bull, cap 8x)
Peter Lynch Fair ValueRelative$259.291.28xyesEPS $18.55, growth 14% (input: historical EPS growth), PEG=1.26 (Fair)
Margin TrajectoryGrowthno
Earnings Power ValueEarnings$121.632.72xyesNormalized EBIT (5y avg op income, one-time charges added back) $5.53B × (1−24%) / WACC 7.4% → EPV (no growth)
Residual IncomeAsset$254.781.30xyesBV $133.77 + 5yr PV of (ROE (TTM) 14.0% − Kₑ 9.3%) × BV; BV grows 8.8%/yr
Graham NumberAsset$236.291.40xyes√(22.5 × EPS $18.55 × BVPS $133.77) — Graham's conservative floor
EV/EBITDA RelativeRelativenoEBITDA $9.83B × sector EV/EBITDA 12.0x
FCF YieldEarnings$114.912.88xyesFCF $5116.0M / Kₑ 9.3% — zero-growth perpetuity
SBC-Adj FCF YieldEarningsno
Ben Graham FormulaEarnings$566.770.58xyesEPS $18.55 × (8.5 + 2×14.0%) × (4.4 / 5.3%)
ROIC-Justified P/BAsset$35.759.26xyesBV $133.77 × (ROIC 2.0% / WACC 7.4%)
P/Sales SectorRelativenoRevenue $94.72B × sector P/S 2.5x
PEG Fair ValueRelative$388.940.85xyesEPS $18.55 × (PEG 1.5 × growth 14.0% (input: historical EPS growth)) → PE 21.0x
Earnings YieldEarnings$200.541.65xyesEPS $18.55 / required return 9.3% (Rf 4.3% + ERP 5.0%)
Funds From Operations MultipleRelativeno
Clinical Phase NPVGrowthno
MertonAssetno
V5 Mechanicalno

Economic-Unit Decomposition (Sum Of The Parts)

One or more material disclosed units has unresolved economics. Unknown/general is not evidence of homogeneity: segment SOTP is primary but incomplete, consolidated cash flow may remain only a secondary cross-check when every unit shares an enterprise basis, and one sector multiple or target margin is withheld.

UnitRoleValuation basisRevenueReported profitValue evidenceStatus
Federal Express segmentoperatingenterprise$82.3b$0 operating-income$114.4b indicative EV subtotalindicative enterprise value
FedEx Freight segmentoperatingenterprise$8.8b$0 operating-income$17.6b indicative EV subtotalindicative enterprise value
Packageoperatingenterprise$15.6b$0 operating-incomewithheldunresolved no unit value
Freightoperatingenterprise$6.1b$0 operating-incomewithheldunresolved no unit value

No total common-equity value is stated. One or more material units lack a supported unit value. The displayed values are an indicative subtotal; consolidated debt and cash cannot be applied to a fraction of the company.

Solvency

FieldValue
Net debt$13.9b
Net debt / NOPAT (after-tax)3.36x
Net debt / operating income (pre-tax)2.55x
Share count CAGR (buyback)-2.5%
Burning cashno

Interest expense is not separately reported in the latest filings, so interest coverage cannot be computed.

Bullet Takeaways

FedEx is valued on a segment basis anchored to the Federal Express Segment; at $326.25 the price implies an operating decline of about 4.4% a year for that segment, and the reverse-DCF band of about $326 to $726 places the price at the floor, so the market is pricing in decline.

The capital-allocation story is the bull case: FedEx completed the FedEx Freight spin-off on June 1, 2026 (retaining a 19.9% stake to monetize), exceeded $1 billion of fiscal 2026 transformation savings on top of the prior $4 billion DRIVE target, and continues buybacks; relative-multiple and growth-DCF frames justify the price while earnings-power says expensive.

The risk is moat erosion and leverage: Amazon insourced its deliveries, the parcel market is competitive and softening, fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $16.90 to $18.10 fell short of the Street's roughly $19.86, and net debt near $17.2 billion (about 3x operating income) bites in a downturn.

Bull Case

FedEx's capital allocation tells you where management thinks the value is, and the recent moves are decisive. On June 1, 2026, the company completed the spin-off of FedEx Freight into a separate public company (FDXF), distributing one FDXF share for every two FedEx shares and retaining a 19.9% stake it plans to monetize over the following two years. Splitting out the less-cyclical, higher-margin freight business is a clear statement: management is sharpening the parent into a focused express-and-ground network whose value the market can price on its own, and the retained stake plus its planned monetization is a built-in source of capital. Alongside that, the company has bought back stock and reduced share count (down about 2.5% a year), returning capital while it restructures.

The other half of the capital story is the cost-out program, and it is delivering. FedEx exceeded its goal of $1 billion of transformation-related cost savings in fiscal 2026, on top of the DRIVE program that previously hit its $4 billion target. For a network business with enormous fixed costs in aircraft, trucks, and sortation, structural cost reduction is the most reliable lever to expand margin without depending on volume, and the fiscal 2026 result of $6.61 billion in adjusted operating income at a 7% margin on $94.7 billion of revenue shows the program flowing through. Self-help of this magnitude is what lets a mature logistics operator grow earnings even in a soft freight environment.

The valuation makes the setup attractive. At $326.25 (June 27, 2026) the price implies operating growth of about minus 4.4% a year for the segment carrying the premium, the Federal Express Segment; the market is pricing in decline. The bull wager is that a focused, post-spin FedEx, executing a proven cost program and returning capital, is worth more than a decline-priced multiple implies, and that the freight separation plus the retained-stake monetization unlocks value the conglomerate structure obscured.

Bear Case

The moat FedEx long relied on, a dense, hard-to-replicate parcel network, is being chipped at from both ends, and the data shows the erosion. At the top, the company's largest historical customer, Amazon, has spent years building its own logistics arm and now delivers the bulk of its own packages, removing a volume base FedEx used to count on. At the bottom, the U.S. Postal Service, regional carriers, and UPS all compete on the same lanes, and e-commerce shippers increasingly mix carriers to drive down rates. A network business loses its advantage when volume fragments, because the fixed-cost density that made it efficient gets spread over fewer packages. That is why the parent has had to lean so hard on cost-cutting: the revenue side is structurally pressured.

The valuation reflects the strain. The price implies an operating decline of about 4.4% a year for the Federal Express Segment, and while the relative-multiple and growth-DCF families reach the price, the earnings-power family says the stock is expensive. That earnings-power flag is the bear's foothold: it says that on its current, normalized earning power, FedEx is not cheap, and the bull case depends on the cost program and the spin-off unlocking value rather than on the core business growing. The fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $16.90 to $18.10 came in well below the Street's roughly $19.86 expectation, and the stock fell on the outlook even after a strong quarter, which tells you the market is skeptical the self-help offsets the demand softness.

The structural cautions are heavy. Net debt sits near $17.2 billion against an asset-intensive, fuel-and-labor-exposed cost base, and net-debt-to-operating-income around 3x means the leverage bites in a downturn. The spin-off itself carries one-time costs (FedEx Freight's own guidance flagged spinoff costs weighing on results) and removes the more stable freight earnings from the parent, leaving FDX more exposed to the cyclical, competitive express-and-ground business. The DRIVE and transformation programs have largely been harvested, so the easy cost savings are behind it, and continued margin gains get harder from here. The bear's summary: a network whose volume moat is eroding, priced for decline yet flagged expensive on earnings power, carrying meaningful leverage into a softer, more competitive parcel market.

Valuation

FedEx is valued on a segment basis, anchored to the Federal Express Segment, which carries the priced-in premium. At $326.25 the price implies operating growth of about minus 4.4% a year for that segment over five years at a 7.2% cost of capital; the market is pricing in a modest decline, which the inversion reads as within range, with the segment's multiple in the upper half of its peer range.

The method families split in a familiar pattern. The relative-multiple and growth-DCF families justify the price, while the earnings-power family says expensive. The bull leans on the peer and forward frames, which credit the cost program and the value-unlock from the freight spin-off; the bear leans on the earnings-power frame, which says FedEx is not cheap on its current normalized earning power. The decline embedded in the price is the swing factor: if the express segment merely stabilizes, the growth and peer frames look right; if it keeps eroding, the earnings frame does.

The honest read: this is a restructuring story priced for decline, where the bet is on self-help and corporate simplification rather than organic growth. The strengths are concrete: $1 billion of fiscal 2026 transformation savings on top of the prior $4 billion DRIVE target, the completed FedEx Freight spin-off plus a 19.9% retained stake to monetize, and steady buybacks. The risks are a softening, more competitive parcel market and net debt near $17.2 billion. One important note on the inputs: the underlying segment composition still reflects the pre-spin structure, so post-June-2026 the parent is a more focused express-and-ground business, and the cleaner anchor for the price is management's fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $16.90 to $18.10 and the post-spin margin path rather than the legacy combined figures.

Catalysts

The defining recent catalyst was the FedEx Freight spin-off, completed June 1, 2026. FedEx distributed one share of FedEx Freight (FDXF) for every two FedEx shares (record date May 15) and retained a 19.9% stake it plans to monetize over the following 24 months. The separation leaves the parent as a more focused express-and-ground network and gives the freight business its own listing (FedEx 8-K, TradingKey, TheStreet).

The fiscal 2026 results and guidance were the other catalyst. FedEx reported $94.7 billion in revenue and $6.61 billion in adjusted operating income at a 7% margin, and exceeded its goal of $1 billion in transformation-related cost savings for the year, on top of the DRIVE program's prior $4 billion. However, fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $16.90 to $18.10 came in well below the Street's average of about $19.86, and shares fell on the outlook despite the strong quarter (TT, Yahoo Finance, TradingKey).

The forward catalysts are the post-spin operating trajectory and the parcel-demand backdrop. The thesis turns on whether the focused parent sustains margin gains as the transformation savings are harvested, how it monetizes the retained FDXF stake, and whether express and ground volumes hold against competition and a softer freight cycle. Continued cost execution and a stabilizing volume picture would support the case that the decline-priced stock is mispriced; weaker volumes, spinoff-related costs, or another guidance miss would be the clearest near-term risks. The next quarterly print is the first clean look at the standalone parent (TheStreet, TT).

Peer Cohorts (Per Segment, With Filing Citations)

Federal Express segment / Package / Freight (reported)

FedEx Freight segment (reported)

Methodology Note

Fundamentals sourced from SEC EDGAR filings. Current price from Databento. The priced-in inversion and valuation x-ray are computed by the boothcheck engine; narrative composed by AI from the structured data.

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