A UPS shareholder is taking the parcel delivery service and three of its top execs to court in a class-action lawsuit, alleging they misled investors on the company’s anticipated financial performance ahead of the fiscal year.
The complaint revolves around the 2024 annual guidance issued by UPS on Jan. 30, which first projected revenue of $92 billion to $94.5 billion for the year on an operating margin between 10 percent and 10.6 percent.
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On Oct. 10, plaintiff Lesley Savage accused the defendant of failing to reveal that it was “not truly equipped to handle a surge in volume in lower-profit services without seeing a significant decline in their operating margins” before the company cut both full-year guidance metrics in July.
Without those facts, Savage argues that he and other shareholders purchased UPS stock at “artificially inflated prices.” The company’s stock tanked more than 12 percent to $127.68 per share when UPS revealed the tapered guidance along with its second quarter results.
“Defendants created the false impression that they possessed reliable information pertaining to the company’s projected revenue outlook and anticipated growth while also minimizing risk from seasonality and macroeconomic fluctuations,” the lawsuit writes.
UPS would not comment on the litigation.
CEO Carol Tomé, former chief financial officer Brian Newman and executive vice president Nando Cesarone are co-defendants in the suit. Highlighted in the complaint, Cesarone spoke to the logistics company’s ability to handle volume swings during the Jan. 30 earnings call, which presumably would impact margins.
“It is a virtuous cycle. So we’re working ahead of any type of volume variability,” said Cesarone. “So whether it goes up or down, we’ve got some of our best engineers, operations folks, finance folks identifying additional cost outs as we move forward, as we’re executing the ones that we have in front of us. So we feel good that there’s a good pipeline of opportunity no matter what the volume does.”
But the plaintiff argued otherwise.
“In truth, UPS’ optimistic reports of growth, plans to handle volume variability, upcoming profit growth, and consistent claims that the first quarter would present the worst margins of the fiscal year fell short of reality,” said the lawsuit. “The company was not truly equipped to handle a volume surge without causing a corresponding significant decline in their operating margin.”