UPS shares gain as holiday-quarter revenue surpasses Wall Street's target

• UPS shares gained as much as 4.9% in Tuesday morning trades.
• The shipping carrier reported revenue improved by more than 20% during holiday quarter.
• Adjusted earnings increased but net loss widened.

UPS shares gained as much as 4.9% on Tuesday morning, with domestic growth during the holiday season helping the package handler turn in fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that surpassed Wall Street's expectations.

The stock so far this year has lost more than 7% but has surged by 51% over the past 12 months.

Revenue at the logistics company rose by 21% to $24.89 billion from $20.56 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected $22.87 billion, according to a consensus estimate from Yahoo Finance. The company said small to medium-sized businesses stoked growth in its US segment during the quarter that featured the busy Christmas shopping season.

With millions of Americans staying close to home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, revenue per piece increased by 7.8% in its ground residential service.

"During the fourth quarter, we began transporting COVID-19 vaccines and we stand ready to deliver hope and health to people around the world," said Carol Tomé, chief executive of UPS, in the quarterly report.

Adjusted earnings of $2.66 per share surpassed Wall Street's target of $2.14 per share and the year-earlier result of $2.11 per share.

The company's net loss, however, widened to $3.75 per share from a loss of $0.12 per share a year earlier.

UPS refrained from providing revenue or per-share earnings guidance, citing "continued economic uncertainty due to the global pandemic" as a reason to hold back from issuing an outlook.