BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NYSE:EXPD) today announced third quarter 2024 financial results including the following comparisons to the same quarter of 2023:

• Diluted Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders per share (EPS¹) increased 41% to $1.63
• Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders increased 34% to $230 million
• Operating Income increased 40% to $302 million
• Revenues increased 37% to $3.0 billion
• Airfreight tonnage increased 19% and ocean container volume increased 12%

“We have worked hard over this past year to gain additional volumes and grow our business by winning new customers and gaining additional business with current customers,” said Jeffrey S. Musser, President and Chief Executive Officer. “These positive third-quarter results reflect those efforts in securing higher tonnage and volumes, which were further boosted as some shippers pulled freight forward out of concern over port actions and geopolitical disruptions, and in advance of fourth quarter holiday sales. Geopolitical events continued to impact pricing and the flow of freight during the quarter. Ocean transit times remained extended because carriers avoided the Red Sea and were further disrupted by prior concerns over potential port strikes. Air capacity is too scarce and costly to serve as a viable widespread alternative for most shippers.

“Strong growth in air tonnage and ocean volumes had a positive impact on all areas of our business during the quarter. Air tonnage and rates increased across all regions. Direct e-commerce continued to absorb available air freight capacity and boost rates on North Asia exports, and manufacturing relocations and sea-to-air conversions drove higher rates on exports from South Asia. Higher volumes moving through our network led to an increase in fees for customs brokerage and other ancillary services, in addition to new road freight business and growth in order management services. All in all, I would be hard pressed to point to an area of our business where our people did not perform at their highest level.

“We would again caution that our ability to see much beyond our day-to-day levels of activity remains challenging. We believe that ocean rates may decline if demand softens and capacity increases, particularly if commerce on the Red Sea returns to normal. We also believe that global freight markets and pricing are likely to remain volatile for some time. Unpredictable events seem to occur with such increased regularity as to make us wonder if disruption is the new state of normal. Regardless, we remain focused on servicing our current customers and gaining market share, while keeping costs in check.”

Bradley S. Powell, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, added, “We handled increased volumes and tonnage in the third quarter and executed well throughout our network, while keeping headcount flat and controlling operating expenses. Our measure of operating efficiency (operating income as a percentage of revenue less directly related cost of transportation and other expenses) is now back to our 30% target for the year to date. We continue to control and carefully manage our cash, while working to improve operational efficiencies and return capital to investors.”

Mr. Powell noted that the Company repurchased $140 million in common stock during the third quarter of 2024, and $603 million year to date.

Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. The Company employs trained professionals in 176 district offices and numerous branch locations located on six continents linked into a seamless worldwide network through an integrated information management system. Services include the consolidation or forwarding of air and ocean freight, customs brokerage, vendor consolidation, cargo insurance, time-definite transportation, order management, warehousing and distribution and customized logistics solutions.

Disclaimer on Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this news release are “forward-looking statements,” based on management’s views with respect to future events and underlying assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding inflation; continued growth in air and ocean carrier capacity and the impact on rates; unpredictability in the ocean and air markets, including uncertainty due to conflicts in the Middle East and Red Sea; port actions and other labor disruptions; new capacity in the marketplace; longer ocean transit times; strong e-commerce demand in the air market; and volatile rates. Future financial performance could differ materially because of factors such as: our ability to secure higher air tonnage and ocean volumes; our ability to keep headcount and other costs in check while continuing to generate efficiency that meets our historical expectations; the alignment of our variable compensation structure with performance; our ability to enhance and bolster our network security; that management is able to grow the business and explore new areas for profitable growth; our ability to leverage the strength of our carrier relationships; the strength of our non-asset-based operating model; and our ability to remain a strong, healthy, unified and resilient organization. Geo-political risks, port actions and other labor disruptions, and the current uncertainty in the global economy could have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, including, without limitation, those related to the success of our strategy and desire to maintain historical unitary profitability, our ability to attract and retain customers, our ability to manage costs, interruptions to our information technology systems, the ability of third-party providers to perform and potential litigation and contingencies, including risks associated with tax audits, as updated by our reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors are discussed in the Company’s regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, and the Company’s most recent Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date and the Company does not assume any obligation to update them except as required by law.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 we repurchased 1.2 million and 5.1 million shares of common stock at an average price of $118.47 and $119.21 per share. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 we repurchased 2.6 million and 10.5 million shares of common stock at an average price of $116.29 and $113.97 per share.

Investors may submit written questions via e-mail to: investor@expeditors.com. Questions received by the end of business on November 8, 2024 will be considered in management's 8-K “Responses to Selected Questions.”

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NOTE: See Disclaimer on Forward-Looking Statements in this release.