MW UPS will cut a lot more jobs as its Amazon business shrinks, and investors like it

By Jules Rimmer and Tomi Kilgore

The stock surges to a 10-month high, as the 2026 outlook suggests the three-year stretch of earnings declines looks set to end

Stripping out the write-off of its MD-11 aircraft fleet and its workforce-restructuring charges, UPS's numbers were 8% ahead of consensus estimates.

Shares of United Parcel Service rallied to its highest levels in nearly a year after fourth-quarter results beat expectations, and as the package delivery giant's 2026 outlook suggests earnings may have finally bottomed.

And while the company (UPS) said it expects to cut another 30,000 jobs this year as the reduction in its business with Amazon.com (AMZN) is completed, investors seemed happy with how losing that business has been helping boost profitability.

Chief Executive Carol Tomé bolstered that view, by saying that 2026 will be "an inflection point" in the company's plan to deliver revenue growth and improved profit margins.

The stock jumped 4.3% in recent midday trading, which puts it on track for the highest close since March 24, 2025.

UPS reported fourth-quarter net income that rose 4.1% from a year ago to $1.79 billion. Adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, such as asset write-offs and restructuring costs, of $2.38 topped the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of $2.20.

Total revenue slipped 3.2% to $24.5 billion, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $24 billion.

Revenue for the domestic package business was down 3.2% to $16.76 billion, but topped expectations of $16.29 billion, while international revenue grew 2.5% to $5.05 billion, or just above expectations of $5 billion.

For 2026, the company said on the post-earnings call with analysts that EPS is expected to be about the same as in 2025, which would mark a significant change in trajectory following three straight years of declines. And 2026 revenue is expected to be just below $90 billion, which is about 1% more than 2025 revenue, and about 2% higher than what analysts currently expect, according to FactSet.

Regarding its Amazon business, Tomé said UPS reached its volume reduction target, by cutting about one million Amazon packages a day, leading to cost savings of $3.5 billion. And for 2026, the company plans to cut costs by another $3 billion, by eliminating up to 30,000 Amazon-related jobs, and by closing 24 buildings in the first half of the year, and potentially more building closures later in the year.

In October, the company had said it had cut 34,000 jobs through September, or 6.9% of its workforce.

UPS and its investors did suffer through a lot of pain to get where it is now. The stock dropped 21.3% in 2025, the biggest yearly decline since 2008, and had tumbled 53.7% amid a four-year losing streak.

The share price reflects the difficulties it has experienced in growing revenues. In 2022, UPS reported $100 billion in revenue - a level it has failed to match since and which led to a halving of the share price over that time frame.

Trade frictions between the U.S. and China, combined with a shift away from Amazon were the main headwinds for growth. But investors are now more upbeat on the stock, which has rallied more than 12.4% to start the year.

While revenue growth is difficult for UPS, its price-to-earnings ratio is around 30% lower than the index average, while its dividends remain attractive to investors looking for income.

UPS declared Tuesday a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, which equates to an annualized yield of 5.88% at the current share price. That compares favorably with the S&P 500 index's SPX implied 1.13% dividend yield, according to FactSet data, and is well above U.S. Treasury.

Meanwhile, the analyst community remains lukewarm with their recommendations on the stock. Of the 32 analysts surveyed by FactSet who cover UPS, more than half (17 analysts) are neutral on the stock and three are bearish. And the mean target price is $106.62, which is below the current market level.

-Jules Rimmer -Tomi Kilgore

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January 27, 2026 12:04 ET (17:04 GMT)

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