UPS Says Earnings Will Disappoint Because There Were Way Too Many Last-Minute Holiday Shipments

Package delivery giant UPS just warned that its Q4 earnings would fall short of estimates.

Management expected to report Q4 earnings of $1,25 per share, which is much lower than the $1.43 expected by analysts.

"U.S. results were negatively impacted by the challenges of the compressed peak season coupled with an unprecedented level of online shopping that included a surge of last-minute orders," said UPS in a press release. "In an effort to maintain service standards and commitments, UPS took extraordinary measures deploying additional equipment and people. For example, the company utilized 85,000 temporary employees, 30,000 more than planned. Also, weather events in December weighed on results."

"On December 23, UPS delivered more than 31 million packages, the most ever and 13% over the prior-year peak day," they added. "This year's highest delivery day occurred six days later than expected and was 7.5% greater than planned."

Looking ahead, management sees EPS growing 10%-15%, which translates to around $5.03 to $5.26. Analysts were looking for $5.49.