FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX)

Debt to Equity

The ratio generally increased from 0.88 in August 2018 to peak around 1.2 between May and August 2020, indicating a rising reliance on debt relative to equity during this period. Subsequently, there was a steady decline to values near 0.75 by early 2025, signifying a deleveraging trend or equity growth.

Debt to Equity (Including Operating Lease Liability)

This ratio shows a notable jump from 0.88 in August 2018 to about 1.97 by May 2020, reflecting the impact of operating lease liabilities on the company's leverage. After this peak, the ratio gradually diminishes to approximately 1.39 by early 2025, indicating some reduction in total debt obligations when including leases, but it remains consistently higher than the base debt to equity measure.

Debt to Capital

The debt to capital ratio increased slightly from 0.47 in mid-2018 up to about 0.55 in mid-2020, showing increased debt financing within the capital structure. It trended downwards afterward, stabilizing around 0.43 towards early 2025, pointing to relatively less debt or increased capital base over time.

Debt to Capital (Including Operating Lease Liability)

This measure follows a similar pattern but at higher values due to inclusion of lease liabilities. Starting at 0.47 in August 2018, it rose to around 0.66 mid-2020, then gradually declined and flattened near 0.58 by early 2025.

Debt to Assets

Excluding leases, this ratio fluctuated moderately, beginning at 0.33 in August 2018, dipping to around 0.23-0.24 in later years, indicating a modest decrease in debt relative to total assets and suggesting improved asset financing or asset growth.

Debt to Assets (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The inclusion of operating lease liabilities caused a sharp increase in this ratio from 0.33 in August 2018 to approximately 0.49 in the 2019-2020 period. It then declined slightly but remained steady in the 0.43-0.44 range through 2024-2025, reflecting sustained lease-related liabilities within total asset financing.

Financial Leverage

The financial leverage ratio increased from 2.71 in August 2018, peaking at about 4.02 in May 2020, which coincides with higher levels of debt usage. This ratio then decreased steadily to roughly 3.18 by early 2025, indicating a gradual reduction in the company's overall leverage and reliance on debt.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibited a general increasing trend from August 31, 2018, to February 28, 2021, rising from approximately $16.9 billion to around $23.4 billion. A notable peak appeared in May 2020 with a value of about $22.0 billion, potentially reflecting increased borrowing during that period. Subsequently, total debt began a gradual decline, decreasing to approximately $20.1 billion by February 28, 2025, indicating efforts toward debt reduction or improved cash flow management in recent quarters.

Common Stockholders’ Investment

Common stockholders’ investment showed an overall expanding trend over the entire period. Starting at roughly $19.2 billion in August 2018, it experienced some fluctuations but generally increased, reaching above $27.5 billion by November 30, 2024. A significant rise is observable between November 30, 2020, and November 30, 2021, where values increased from about $21.0 billion to $24.9 billion. This suggests possible equity issuance or accumulation of retained earnings during this timeframe. Despite some volatility, the upward trend continued into the most recent periods, signaling strengthening equity position.

Debt to Equity Ratio

The debt to equity ratio demonstrated variability in the observed quarters. Initially, the ratio gradually increased from 0.88 in August 2018 to a peak of approximately 1.2 in May and August 2020, indicating a period where debt grew disproportionately relative to equity. Following this, the ratio declined steadily, falling below 0.8 by August 2023 and maintaining this lower level through to February 28, 2025. This trend suggests an improvement in the company's capital structure, reflecting reduced reliance on debt financing relative to equity in more recent periods.

Total debt (including operating lease liability)

Over the observed periods, total debt demonstrated significant fluctuations. Initially, the debt hovered between approximately $16.9 billion and $18.4 billion from August 2018 through May 2019. A sharp increase occurred starting August 2019, with debt levels nearly doubling to over $32.7 billion and peaking around $38 billion in the subsequent years. This elevated level remained relatively stable, showing minor variations around the $37 billion to $38 billion range through early 2024. Toward the latest reported date in February 2025, there was a modest decrease, with debt dropping slightly below $37 billion.

Common stockholders’ investment

Common stockholders’ investment exhibited a general upward trend over the entire timeline. Starting at approximately $19.2 billion in August 2018, there was a slight dip in the middle of the initial periods, falling to around $17.8 billion by May 2019. After that, equity steadily increased, reaching above $24 billion by mid-2021, and continued to grow gradually thereafter. Although there was a minor decline observed near the end of 2022 to early 2023, the investment rebounded and climbed to approximately $26.7 billion by February 2025. This pattern indicates an overall strengthening equity base despite some intermittent fluctuations.

Debt to equity ratio (including operating lease liability)

The debt to equity ratio experienced notable changes, reflecting the variations in debt and equity levels. Initially, the ratio was below 1.0, signaling a more equity-weighted capital structure up to May 2019. However, there was a pronounced increase in this ratio after May 2019, with values rising sharply to above 1.7 and peaking near the 2.0 mark by May 2020. This spike corresponds with the increase in total debt during the same period. Subsequently, the ratio trended downward gradually, falling to around 1.37 by mid-2024, implying a reduction in leverage relative to equity. Nevertheless, slight upticks late in the data series suggest recurrent moderate fluctuations in leverage but maintaining a leverage level comfortably above the pre-2019 figures.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibits a general increasing trend from August 2018 through February 2021, rising from approximately 16.9 billion USD to a peak near 23.4 billion USD. After this peak, a decline is observed starting May 2021, with total debt decreasing gradually to about 20.1 billion USD by November 2024. This suggests a period of accumulation of debt followed by a deliberate reduction or stabilization in recent years.

Total Capital

Total capital shows an overall upward trend from around 36.1 billion USD in August 2018, reaching approximately 47.3 billion USD by November 2023. There is some fluctuation, including a slight dip around May 2019 and May 2021, but the long-term trajectory remains positive until a marginal decrease appears towards November 2024, ending near 46.8 billion USD. The increase in capital indicates growth in the financing base over the observed period.

Debt to Capital Ratio

The debt to capital ratio starts at 0.47 in August 2018 and exhibits a gradual increase to peak levels around 0.55 in May 2020. This peak corresponds to the period when total debt was rising sharply, likely influenced by external financial or operational factors. Subsequently, the ratio declines steadily to approximately 0.42 by May 2024, maintaining a relatively stable lower ratio through November 2024. This decrease suggests improved financial leverage with a greater proportion of capital raised through means other than debt or effective debt reduction relative to total capital.

Summary Insights

The financial data depicts a phase of increased leverage and debt accumulation prior to 2021, which then transitions into a period of consolidation and debt reduction. Despite fluctuations, the company's capital base has expanded overall, and the reduction in the debt to capital ratio after 2020 implies an improved balance sheet strength. The trends indicate strategic efforts possibly aimed at optimizing capital structure and reducing financial risk in the recent periods.

Total debt (including operating lease liability)

Over the observed periods, total debt exhibited a significant increase from approximately $16.9 billion in August 2018 to a peak near $38.3 billion in mid-2023. This increase was notably rapid between May 2019 and August 2019, where debt surged from about $17.6 billion to $32.8 billion, suggesting substantial financing or lease liabilities assumed during this interval. After reaching its highest point in mid-2023, total debt showed a mild downward trend, declining to approximately $37.0 billion by early 2025. The fluctuations after 2020 appear relatively moderate compared to the sharp rise observed from 2018 to 2019.

Total capital (including operating lease liability)

Total capital mirrored a similar upward trend, beginning around $36.1 billion in August 2018 and rising to approximately $64.7 billion by late 2023. Between May and August 2019, capital also experienced significant growth, increasing from about $35.3 billion to over $50.9 billion, aligning with the spike in total debt. After the mid-2023 peak, total capital maintained a generally stable range close to $63.7 billion to $65.3 billion with slight volatility. This indicates the company managed to sustain a high level of capitalization following the growth phase between 2018 and 2019.

Debt to capital ratio (including operating lease liability)

The debt to capital ratio started at approximately 0.47 in August 2018, signifying that debt constituted 47% of total capital. A marked increase occurred between early 2019 and mid-2019, with the ratio rising sharply to around 0.64-0.66. This reflects the proportionally faster growth in debt relative to capital during this period. Post this peak, the leverage ratio stabilized, showing a gradual decline from about 0.66 in mid-2020 toward a level near 0.58 by early 2025. The downward trend after 2020 implies efforts to moderately reduce leverage or relatively faster growth in capital compared to debt in recent periods. Overall, the company’s leverage rose substantially in the 2019 timeframe and has since moderated but remains elevated compared to the 2018 baseline.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibits a generally stable to slightly fluctuating trend over the observed period. Starting at approximately 16,944 million USD in August 2018, it saw moderate increases reaching a peak around 23,443 million USD in February 2021. After this peak, a gradual decline follows, stabilizing around the 20,000 to 20,500 million USD range from mid-2021 through early 2025. There are minor month-to-month variations, but no significant upward or downward spikes beyond this range.

Total Assets

Total assets show a consistent upward trend from about 51,901 million USD in August 2018 through a peak near 88,051 million USD in November 2023. This growth is relatively steady, with incremental increases quarter over quarter, though there is a slight flattening and mild decline observed starting from late 2023 into early 2025, where total assets fall to approximately 85,043 million USD by February 2025.

Debt to Assets Ratio

The debt to assets ratio displays a declining trend overall, indicating a reduction in leverage relative to assets. Initially, the ratio fluctuates around 0.32 to 0.34 in the earlier periods (2018 to mid-2019), but from late 2019 onward, it generally decreases, reaching around 0.23 to 0.24 by the later quarters (late 2023 through early 2025). This suggests an improvement in the capital structure, with the company reducing its reliance on debt relative to its asset base over time.

Total Debt (including operating lease liability)

The total debt exhibits a general increasing trend from August 2018 through early 2021, rising from approximately $16.9 billion to a peak near $38.5 billion by November 2020 and February 2021. Post this peak, the debt levels stabilize and show a mild decreasing tendency with fluctuations, maintaining values in the range of $37 billion to $38 billion until early 2024, followed by a slight reduction toward $37 billion by February 2025.

Total Assets

Total assets increased substantially from approximately $51.9 billion in August 2018 to about $82.8 billion by the end of the first quarter in 2021. From mid-2021 onward, the assets remained relatively stable with minor fluctuations around the $85 billion to $87 billion range, and a slight downward drift in the last few quarters, reaching close to $85 billion by February 2025.

Debt to Assets Ratio (including operating lease liability)

The leverage ratio started near 0.33 in August 2018, decreased slightly through early 2019, and then experienced a sharp increase to around 0.48 by August 2019 where it remained elevated through early 2020. Following this period, the ratio gradually declined to about 0.43-0.44 from mid-2021 onward, indicating an improvement in leverage position relative to the asset base. The ratio remained stable through 2024 and into early 2025, maintaining around the 0.44 level, reflecting consistent debt servicing relative to asset size.

Summary of Trends and Insights

The data indicates a notable rise in both total debt and assets between 2018 and early 2021, corresponding with increased operational scale or strategic investments. The leverage ratio's rise to nearly 0.48 during 2019-2020 suggests a period of elevated financial risk or increased borrowing relative to assets. However, the subsequent stabilization and slight reduction in both debt and the debt-to-asset ratio suggest a deleveraging phase or improved asset management. The stability of total assets in recent years alongside controlled debt indicates a balanced approach to capital structure. Overall, the company appears to have managed its leverage prudently following peak borrowing, maintaining stable asset levels and moderate leverage ratios in the more recent periods.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals several notable trends related to the company’s asset base, stockholders’ investment, and financial leverage over the given periods.

Total assets

The total assets exhibit a general upward trajectory over the analyzed timeline. Beginning around 51.9 billion USD in August 2018, the assets increased with some fluctuations, reaching a peak near 88 billion USD towards late 2023. There is a slight decline observed in 2024, with assets decreasing to approximately 85 billion USD by the last reported quarter. This overall growth indicates expansion or accumulation of resources, although the recent slight decrease could suggest some asset liquidation or depreciation activity.

Common stockholders’ investment

The common stockholders’ investment follows a somewhat positive trend overall, though less pronounced than total assets. Starting near 19.2 billion USD in August 2018, there was moderate growth with some periods of stagnation or slight decrease. Notably, after a dip in mid-2019, the investment level showed recovery and steady increase, reaching about 27.7 billion USD by mid-2024. Some minor volatility appears in the latest quarters, suggesting possible changes in retained earnings or stock issuance/buyback dynamics.

Financial leverage

The financial leverage ratio, calculated as total assets divided by common stockholders’ equity, displays significant variation. Initially, it hovered around 2.7 to 2.8 in 2018, increasing sharply to near 4.0 in 2020, indicative of a higher proportion of liabilities relative to equity, potentially reflecting increased borrowing or changes in capital structure linked to growth or investment strategies. Post-2020, the leverage ratio steadily declined to approximately 3.15 in mid-2024, implying a gradual reduction in reliance on debt or improvement in equity financing.

In summary, the company’s asset size grew noticeably over the period, supported by moderate increases in stockholders’ equity. The financial leverage peaked in 2020, likely due to elevated financial risk and debt utilization, but subsequently declined, reflecting a possible strategy shift towards strengthening the equity base or deleveraging. The overall financial position suggests dynamic management of capital structure and asset growth, with recent subtle corrections in asset size and more stable leverage levels.