FedEx

FedEx Corporation, originally called Federal Express Corporation, is an American multinational holding company that focuses on transportation, e-commerce, and business services. Its headquarters are in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "FedEx" is a shortened form of its original air division, Federal Express, which used that name from 1973 until 1994. The company is most famous for its delivery services, which include FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Office, FedEx Supply Chain, FedEx Freight, and others, all run through a group of subsidiaries. These expansions were often aimed at competing with its main rival, UPS. The company’s air shipping operations are centered at its main hub at Memphis International Airport, making that airport a key location for global logistics.

The company was founded in 1971 in Little Rock, Arkansas, as Federal Express Corporation by Frederick W. Smith, a Yale graduate. He first described the idea in a college term paper, proposing a system for urgent deliveries. His professor was unimpressed, but Smith continued. He started formal operations in 1973 after moving to Memphis, choosing Memphis International Airport because it was near the country's average population center and had calm weather. The company grew quickly, reaching $1 billion in revenue by 1983—a rare feat for a startup that hadn't done any mergers or acquisitions in its first ten years. It expanded into Europe and Asia in 1984. In 1988, it bought a major competitor, Flying Tiger Line, creating the world's largest full-service cargo airline. In 1994, Federal Express shortened its name to "FedEx" for marketing, officially adopting a nickname that had been in use for years.

On October 2, 1997, FedEx reorganized as a holding company called FDX Corporation, a Delaware corporation. This new holding company started operating in January 1998 after Federal Express bought Caliber System Inc. That purchase let FedEx offer services beyond express shipping. Caliber’s subsidiaries included RPS (a small-package ground service), Roberts Express (expedited shipping), Viking Freight (a regional less-than-truckload carrier in the Western U.S.), Caribbean Transportation Services (airfreight forwarding to and from the Caribbean), and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology (logistics and tech services). FDX Corporation was set up to oversee all these companies and the original air division, Federal Express. In January 2000, FDX Corporation changed its name to FedEx Corporation and rebranded all its subsidiaries. Federal Express became FedEx Express, RPS became FedEx Ground, Roberts Express became FedEx Custom Critical, and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology were combined into FedEx Global Logistics. A new subsidiary, FedEx Corporate Services, was formed to centralize sales, marketing, and customer service. In February 2000, FedEx bought Tower Group International, an international logistics company, and WorldTariff, a customs duty and tax information company; these were rebranded as FedEx Trade Networks.

In February 2004, FedEx Corp. bought privately held Kinko's, Inc. and rebranded it FedEx Kinko's, aiming to expand retail access for the public. After the purchase, all FedEx Kinko's locations only offered FedEx shipping. In June 2008, FedEx announced it would drop the Kinko's name, renaming the centers FedEx Office. In September 2004, FedEx bought Parcel Direct, a parcel consolidator, and rebranded it FedEx SmartPost. In April 2015, FedEx bought rival TNT Express for €4.4 billion to grow its European operations. In February 2016, FedEx launched FedEx Cares, a global giving platform, and pledged to invest $200 million to strengthen over 200 communities by 2020. In March 2018, FedEx bought P2P Mailing Limited, a last-mile delivery service, for £92 million. In June 2019, FedEx decided not to renew its $850 million contract with Amazon for U.S. domestic express delivery; Amazon had made up 1.3 percent of 2018 revenues. In August 2019, FedEx also ended ground deliveries for Amazon. In December 2020, FedEx bought ShopRunner, an e-commerce platform. On March 29, 2022, founder Frederick W. Smith announced he would retire as CEO and become executive chairman on June 1, 2022, with Raj Subramaniam, then president and COO, taking over as CEO. In April 2023, FedEx announced plans to combine its operating companies into one organization. In June 2024, FedEx Ground and FedEx Services were merged into Federal Express, creating a unified air-ground delivery network as part of the Network 2.0 restructuring. In December 2024, FedEx announced plans to separate FedEx Freight into an independent publicly traded company. In June 2026, the spin-off was completed, and FedEx Freight began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “FDXF,” focusing on the North American less-than-truckload market.