BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NYSE:EXPD) today announced third quarter 2026 financial results including the following comparisons to the same quarter of 2025:

• Diluted Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders per share (EPS) increased 62% to $2.65
• Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders increased 55% to $345 million
• Operating Income increased 55% to $445 million
• Revenues increased 42% to $4.1 billion
• Airfreight tonnage increased 13% and ocean container volume increased 7%
• Customs, Transcon, Distribution, and Order Management each achieved double-digit revenue growth for a third consecutive quarter
• Cash returned to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends was $197 million and $946 million for the third quarter and year-to-date period of 2026, respectively

Daniel R. Wall, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“We continue to gain share, particularly in markets that we have made a strategic focus. By continuing to streamline our processes and prioritize companywide growth across every region, product, and district, we once again generated double-digit growth across most of our businesses. While we have thrived during periods of significant disruption throughout our history, the strength of demand for our products and services is what really drove Q3 performance. Demand from certain customers, such as the hyperscalers, has been outpacing the market overall, but we have been very deliberate to expand our customer base across our global network and further diversify our revenues. I sincerely thank our global operations, transition & implementation, sales, and account management teams for their continued focus and dedication to our customers. Through those efforts, we are now charting a course for durable performance no matter what the operating environment.”

Q3 2026 Operational Highlights

Airfreight services: “Airfreight demand remained strong during the quarter, with record global air tonnage increasing approximately 13% year-over-year, driven primarily by continued growth in South Asia, where export tonnage increased most notably. Hyperscaler demand, which also includes shipments from Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers supporting AI infrastructure, was a significant driver of volume growth, while air capacity remains constrained by limited fleet expansion and ongoing new aircraft delivery delays. Capacity was also impacted by aircraft redeployments that affected Asia-Europe e-commerce, stemming from European Union regulations meant to curb the flow of de minimis imports. At the same time, China-U.S. e-commerce tonnage has nearly recovered to what it was prior to the U.S. termination of de minimis shipments in May 2025. Adding geopolitical events to this mix, airfreight rates remained elevated during the quarter, with demand outpacing available capacity.”

Ocean freight and ocean services: “After the flattening we saw in Q2’26, ocean volumes increased 7% year-over-year in Q3, with particularly strong comparative growth in September and across Asia export markets. Significant congestion at major Asian ports and transshipment hubs impacted the ocean markets, as capacity was idled and port operations were halted as a result of three back-to-back typhoons. Nevertheless, demand was consistently healthy and we were able to lean into our longstanding carrier relationships to secure the capacity we needed to support both existing and new customers amidst these service disruptions. The strength of our global network and world class operating teams enabled us to maintain service continuity and respond effectively as conditions deteriorated. We expect congestion and supply chain challenges to persist through the remainder of 2026.”

Customs brokerage and other services: “All of the products in our customs brokerage and other services continued to generate double-digit growth during the quarter, supported by strong customer demand across transportation management, distribution, and supply chain solutions. Much of the strength in our customs brokerage business was from tariff-related additional-line fees and post-entry activity that began in Q3 2025. However, growth during the most recent quarter was driven by significant new business wins, higher declaration volumes, and broad-based customs services across all regions, from both new and existing customers. Demand from AI hyperscalers and other high-value technology customers continued to drive growth across a diverse range of geographies and business sectors. Growth during the quarter was particularly strong in our Transcon road freight and warehousing and distribution businesses, with robust demand from large technology customers.”

David A. Hackett, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, added:

“We had another exceptional quarter and our pipeline of new business remains strong, showing the durability of our earnings growth. Our revenue grew 42%, while headcount increased only 1% from prior year, demonstrating the scalability of our operating model and driving significant operating leverage. Our operating efficiency increased to 36.7%, well above our historical target of 30%. The growth in operating income of 55% combined with a lower tax rate and a lower share count drove the 62% increase in diluted EPS.

“We have made and are continuing to make investments in temperature-controlled facilities, critical logistics services, and productivity initiatives, including investments in artificial intelligence and other technology solutions. These high-return investments, coupled with our strong operational performance, are driving revenue growth and improvements in productivity as we seek to decouple headcount growth from revenue growth over the long term. We will continue making high-return investments, including additional investments in artificial intelligence and other technology solutions to further increase our net operating margins over the long term.”

Mr. Hackett noted that the Company returned $197 million to shareholders through share repurchases during the quarter and $946 million in dividends and share repurchases for the first nine months of 2026.

2026 Investor Day

As previously announced, Expeditors plans to hold an Investor Day for its shareholders and analysts on the morning of Wednesday, November 18, 2026, in New York City.

Investor Questions

Investors may submit written questions via email to: investor@expeditors.com. Questions received by the end of business on November 6, 2026 will be considered in management's 8-K “Responses to Selected Questions.”

About Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.:

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NYSE: EXPD) is a leading S&P 500 global logistics company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Through a worldwide network of knowledgeable professionals across six continents and a globally connected technology platform, Expeditors tailors solutions to manage increasingly complex supply chains and international trade requirements. The asset-light company offers air, customs, ocean, order management, road, warehousing and distribution, and cargo insurance services to key industries worldwide. Guided by a culture of exceptional customer service, Expeditors aspires to be the most trusted and valued logistics company in the world. For more information, visit expeditors.com.

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 our ability to take market share; expand our customer base and diversify our revenues; to thrive during period of disruption; to generate durable earnings growth and other operating performance regardless of the operating environment; our ability to increase financial performance by investing in AI and other technology solutions; the resilience of our non-asset-based model; strategies and solutions to keep customer freight moving out of and around impacted areas; our disciplined cost control; a strong pipeline of new business and diverse areas of growth; continued robust demand for all of our products by a diverse set of customers, including hyperscalers; our ability to work closely with our customers and carrier partners to find solutions, secure capacity, and deliver value, while aligning our resources to maximize profitability. Future financial performance could differ materially because of factors such as: congestion and supply chain challenges; geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine; national policy changes on tariffs and other similar measures; new capacity in the marketplace; changes in ocean transit times; e-commerce demand in the air market; volatile rates; and the price of fuel or fuel shortages. In addition, port actions, other labor disruptions, tariffs, geopolitical tensions, 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. 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, 2025, 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, 2026, we repurchased 1.1 million and 5.4 million shares of common stock at an average price of $178.36 and $154.87. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, we repurchased 1.8 million and 5.3 million shares of common stock at an average price of $119.65 and $116.10 per share.

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Daniel R. Wall
President and Chief Executive Officer
(206) 674-3455

David A. Hackett
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(206) 674-3400

Geoffrey Buscher
Director - Investor Relations
(206) 892-4510

Source: Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.