CASE 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc. VALUE CREATION AND ECONOMIC PROFIT
Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
I. OUTLOOK OF CASE 4
Case 4 mentions about the competition between two leading companies in package- delivery market. FedEx which is the largest foreign presence in China, with 11 weekly flights, serving 220 Chinese cities, so the companys volumes in China had grown by more than 50% between 2003 and 2004. UPS which is the worlds largest package-delivery company and dominant parcel carrier in US, serving 200 cities in 2003. FedEx had virtually invented customer logistical management, and was widely perceived as innovative. Historically, UPS had reputation for being big, bureaucratic and an industry follower. Two companies have their own market, an individual characteristics, and inconclusive. Thus, not only based on the development and operation of the two companies, the analysis also relied on the special purpose financial ratios ( especially Economic Value Added (EVA), an effective measure and rapid for firm within an industry) to find which company has more competitive advantage.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
II. INTRODUCTION
1. FedEx corporation:
FedEx, formally known as Federal Express, started delivering packages and freight on April 17, 1973. The company was founded by Frederick W. Smith, a Yale University graduate. Federal Express offered overnight and second-day delivery to 25 cities in the United States. The company started in Memphis, Tennessee, and it is still in that location today. FedEx didnt actually start showing a profit until July 1975. FedEx starting going international in the 1980s after the company purchased Tiger International and carriers in Japan and Italy. In 1989 FedEx became the first U.S. express carrier to offer direct flights to China. With advancements in technology around the world, FedEx had the task to keep up with the changes. In 1996, FedEx introduced internet-based shipping. FedEx calls this program inter Net Ship. When UPS had a strike in 1997 850,000 packages a day came to FedEx, thus another boost in revenues for the company. The name FedEx didnt come about until the year 2000. After that FedEx has expanded into several other markets that mainly deal with logistics. They have formed somewhat of a partnership with the U.S. postal service. FedEx has made available air transportation for express postal shipments. In return, the U.S. Postal Service now allows FedEx to place drop-off boxes in significant locations. Another noteworthy move by FedEx occurred in 2004 when they purchased Kinkos in order to better serve small businesses.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
In 1907 there was a great need in America for private messenger and delivery services. To help meeting this need, an enterprising 19-year-old, James E. (Jim) Casey, borrowed $100 from a friend and established the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. That initial name was well-suited to the business pursuits of the new company. In response to telephone calls received at their basement headquarters, messengers ran errands, delivered packages, and carried notes, baggage, and trays of food from restaurants. They made most deliveries on foot and used bicycles for longer trips. Only a few automobiles were in existence at that time and department stores of the day still used horses and wagons for merchandise delivery. It would be six years before the United States Parcel Post system would be established transportation and logistics services. Every day, we manage the flow of goods, funds, and information in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The most recent public change came in 2003, when the company introduced a new brand mark, representing a new, evolved UPS, and showing the world that its capabilities extend beyond small package delivery. The company went another step further, adopting the acronym UPS as its formal name, another indicator of its broad expanse of services. Ever true to its humble origins, the company maintains its reputation for integrity, reliability, employee ownership, and customer service. For UPS, the future promises even more accomplishments as the next chapter in the company's history is written.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Overall, the two companies split the small segment of the Express-Delivery market. There are ground market and air-express market. While UPS has dominated the ground area, the air-express has often been FedExs playground.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
b. Capital-investment expenditures
The graph shows that from 1992 to 2003, cumulative capital Expenditures of FedEx and UPS regularly rise. Although the FedExs CCE is more than UPS, during this period, the two companies matched each others investments in capital almost exactly.
U.S domestic air 3.3% U.S export FedEx FedEx ground 0.0% 1998 3.6%
It can be seen from the table that price competition of two companies in ground is the same numbers. There are some small changes of figure in domestic air and export but it seems that both firms had settled into a predictable pattern of regular price increase.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Two companies have the same targets: listening carefully to the customers needs, providing customized solutions rather than standardized products, and committing to service relationship.
Information technology
relied
on
DIADS
Information
System), which transmitted data from Acquisition Devices), which package movements, customer were handheld unit that
pickups, invoices, and deliveries to a drivers used to scan package central database. barcodes and record customer signatures. Service expansion Having the aim is pecking its service UPS copied FedExs
offerings as volume discounts and customer interfaces to catch superb quality. Besides, FedEx up FedExs schedule.
bought $200 million to buy vehicles to match UPS. Logistics service FedEx combine with The London UPS combine with Dell
design-company Laura Ashley to Computer to manage its total store, track, and ship products quickly inbound to individual stores worldwide. shipping. and outbound
In short, FedEx and UPS is the same target, development, operation and the cumulative capital-investment expenditures in the Express-Delivery Market. Moreover, FedEx is the primary choice for air and international shipping while UPS donate the ground. So each firm has done everything they can to catch up with each other and the competition has been fierce.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Belgium, to DHL (one of International Package Delivery company) that made FedEx lost $1 billion in Europe. In 1995, UPS spent more than $1 billion to expand on Europe. At the same time, FedEx expand its routes in Latin America, Caribbean, and Asia. So, in the early 1990s, both of them also spent similar expenditure in developing their strategy in different areas. In China, until 2005 FedEx and UPS just only focused on the import/export
package market. If they want to have completely package operations in China, they must use local partners.
As the graph shows, growth of two companies rises. Sometimes, they slightly decrease (UPS decrease in 1997, and FedEx is lower in 1993 and 2002) but this is not insignificant. FedEx and UPS developed equally, and their variance are small in International Package-Delivery Market. Besides, FedEx entered the
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
market earlier than its competitors and generated revenues in the international market, but UPS acquired higher revenues than FedEx at the end in 2003.
As can be seen from the graph, stock price and annual return of two companies increased slightly from 1992 to 1998 and the stock price and annual return of UPS is higher than FedEx (UPS: AAA shares; FedEx: BBB shares). In 1999, they go up quickly. After that, from 2000 to 2001, they slow down and finally, they jump steadily. Overlook, two companies increased unstably, but their growths are similar to each other. FedExs stock price grow in 1999 because FedEx expanded its network rapidly to a large number of cities in China and made FedEx had 20% of the market, so the stock price rise and annual return also rise.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
However, FedEx reported a large financial loss of its international division. This was due to the unexpected high costs of its expanding network. It made stock price of FedEx go down. And thank to having the largest foreign presence in China, FedEx go up again. In 1999, UPS initiated a two-for-one stocks split, sold 109.4 million newly created Class B shares which lead to raise 5.226 billion. Clearly, stock price and annual return of UPS develop. No longer, UPS used the majority of the proceeds to repurchase 68 million shares of Class A, so stock price and annual return of UPS decreases. Finally, UPS concentrated on its operations, especially UPS had more activities in China that made its rate of growths renew.
According to the linear, we can see the growth of earning per share of UPS the same increase with FedEx but EPSs linear of FedEx higher than UPS.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
According to the chart, FedEx seems to be outperforming UP as it maintains its ratios and is trending towards slight improvement. UPS has been worsening in their ratios. UPS seems to be losing more and more control of its receivables as it grows.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Liquidity Analysis
FedEx again seems to be improving in the liquidity department but UPS is clearly superior. What this means for UPS is that to creditors and investors they are in a better position to satisfy their liabilities than FedEx is.
Leverage Analysis
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
The chart shows the linear of debt/equity ratio of FedEx fall down rapidly. That means FedEx is not taking advantage of the increased profits that financial leverage may bring. UPS tend to remain debt/equity ratio so this rate increases slightly from 1992 to 2003 because UPS want to develop in long term.
Profitability Analysis
In terms of profitability FedEx has consistently been worse than UPS. The net profit margins demonstrate that while FedEx has 3.69% of each dollar of sales left over after expenses UPS has 8.65% (in 2003).
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Growth
Table 2: AVERAGE OF GROWTH FROM 1992 TO 2003 Sales FedEx UPS 11.53% 7.32% Book assets 9.81% 8.12% Net income 35.51% 18.83% Operating income 13.64% 12.35%
With the exception of net income, FedEx has fairly consistently out stepped UPS in terms of growth of things such as sales and assets. UPS is still fairly high but FedEx is outperforming them.
C.
Economic Profit ( Economic Value Added(EVA)) Analysis NOPAT (Net Operating Profit After Tax)
Look at the graph, the linear of two companies have the same rise, but UPS NOPAT is higher than FedExs NOPAT.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Looking at the graph, we can see that linear of UPS WACC tend to reduce steadily. On the other hand, FedEx linear increases marginally. A low WACC can show that the UPS created more value for the shareholders out of the projects it chooses to invest in.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Alternative accounting methods may be employed. Dividend policy is not considered. The time value of money is ignored. One way of viewing the shareholder value approach is to value the
business using Economic Value Added as a valuation methodology. EVA (economic Value Added) measures the extent by which the firm has increased shareholders wealth. Strengths of using EVA to analyze how a company is being run is that EVA is an estimate of a business true economic profit. It includes the cost of all capital including the cost of equity capital (opportunity cost). The weakness of using EVA is that large companies can create more wealth than those small companies despite not using their assets as efficiently. Thereby
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
the firm can accurately determine the real value is created for investors, shareholders in a certainly time.
The EVA for two companies shows that there is no comparison, by this standard UPS is the clear victor. FedEx shows a negative $2,252 cumulative EVA for the period while UPS shows a positive $4,328. EVA values over time will increase company values, while negative EVA values might decrease company values.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
* The market value of an organization's debt is more closely tied to interest rate movements than to managerial actions that influence shareholder wealth. Essentially, the assumption is made that the market value of debt equals its book value.
As the chart shows, we can see both of linear of two companies go up, but UPSs linear go up stronger than FedExs linear. Increasing MVA that means UPS is increasing shareholder wealth. And this is the primary goal of any business and the reason for its existence.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
IV. CONCLUSION
FedEx Financial ratio analysis Activity Liquidity Leverage Profitability Growth Total market returns Cum. total return (19922003) 528.02% 705.95% Graph4 UPS Source (Graph number)
Weakening Better than FedEx Consistently low Better than FedEx Lower than FedEx
Economic profit EVA 2003 Cumulative for 19922003 EVA Market value added Difference
Graph 12
Graph13 Graph14
Summary of Comparative Results UPS is an excellent company because it has operationally excellent strong financial performance. UPS targeted a long-term competitive return and the EPS confirms it, they have continuously improved their performance. After splitting the stocks in 1999 we see that UPS have outperformed FedEx and others in the market with their stock prices. The MVA which is the present value of all future EVA is also in favor of UPS. Beside, the excellence in business is the systematic improvement of business performance based on the principles of customer focus, stakeholder value, and process management. Despite being at a relative disadvantage to the China situation, UPS was still able to capitalize and make a profitable decision to exploit an opportunity that had presented itself more so to a competitor. So, we think UPS will have more and more innovation and staying power.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
4. What do you learn from this case? This case is intended for use in an introductory discussion of corporate value creation and its sources. The growth in annual earnings per share and increases in return on equity is not the best measures for maximizing shareholder wealth. The creation of wealth can be achieved in the real world through the use of economic profit / economic value added as a performance measurement linking strategy to value. The managers of many well known international corporations have succeeded in substantially increasing the value of their business entities by using this valuable tool. The dynamics of using Economic Value Added and market value added have a very powerful application in every business entity, irrespective of size or industry. The Economic Value Added methodology can be applied to create wealth for the owners of businesses from the size of the corner store to that of the multinational corporations. It is now up to us as business executives and advisers to assist owners with the implementation of business strategies which are consistent with the principle of Economic Value Added. Economic profit is used as a performance measurement which directly links strategy to value and is therefore the key to wealth creation.
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Case 4: The Battle for Value, 2004: FedEx Corp. vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.
VI.
REFERENCES 1. Robert Bruner, Case Studies in Finance, 6th edition, McGRAW-HILL International Edition. 2. http://www.fastcompany.com/1716317/fedex-vs-ups-by-the-numbers. 3. http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedEx
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