United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

The financial ratios provided reveal several notable trends and changes over the observed quarterly periods. These ratios include Price to Earnings (P/E), Price to Operating Profit (P/OP), Price to Sales (P/S), and Price to Book Value (P/BV). Analyzing these ratios together provides insights into the valuation and relative performance metrics.

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio exhibits a general declining trend from a high of 36.12 in early 2021 to values fluctuating mostly between 12 and 20 in subsequent years. After an initial sharp decrease reaching a low point near 12.72 at the end of 2022, the ratio slightly rose to peak again around 21.14 by mid-2024 before tapering off below 15 by late 2025. This suggests a reduction in investor optimism or earnings growth expectations compared to earlier periods, with some recovery attempts in mid-2024 but an overall moderation towards more conservative valuations by 2025.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The P/OP ratio follows a broadly similar pattern to the P/E ratio, but with smoother transitions. Starting near 19.92 in early 2021, it decreased progressively to about 9.34 in mid-2025, indicating that the market price relative to operating profit contracted significantly over time. The ratio’s decline was steady, highlighting potentially improved operating profitability or diminished market pricing relative to profits. A temporary increase occurred around 2023 to early 2024, but the downward trajectory resumed thereafter.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

The P/S ratio shows a steady decrease over the analyzed period, from values slightly above 2.0 in early 2021 to under 1.0 by mid-2025. This decline illustrates a significant reduction in company valuation relative to sales. The drop was gradual but consistent, suggesting either modest sales growth compared to price fluctuations or a decreasing market valuation relative to revenue generation. The consistently downward movement could indicate market concerns regarding sales momentum or competitive pressures.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio also declined markedly from over 26 in early 2021 to below 5 by mid-2025. This large decrease indicates a substantial lowering of the company's market valuation in relation to its net asset value. The decline was relatively uninterrupted, though some minor fluctuations appeared toward the latter part of the timeframe. The downward trend highlights that investors have progressively valued the company less relative to its book value, possibly reflecting changing perceptions of asset quality or returns.

Overall, the analysis shows a consistent downward trend in market valuation ratios across earnings, operating profits, sales, and book value over the quarterly periods studied. Although there are occasional short-lived recoveries or stabilizations, the predominant pattern is a reduction in valuation multiples. This may suggest increased caution among investors regarding growth prospects, profitability sustainability, or broader market conditions affecting the company's perceived worth.

Share Price Trend

The share price experienced notable fluctuations over the analyzed periods. Initially, the price decreased from $214.52 at March 31, 2021, to $183.8 by March 31, 2022. This was followed by a further decline, reaching a low point around $93.96 in March 31, 2025. Periodic recoveries occurred during mid-2021 and early 2023, but the overall trajectory shows a downward trend over the multi-year horizon.

Earnings per Share (EPS) Trend

EPS showed strong growth from March 31, 2021 ($5.94) to December 31, 2021 ($14.81), suggesting a significant increase in profitability during that year. Subsequent quarters maintained relatively high EPS levels until reaching a peak sustained period between March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Starting in 2023, EPS showed a gradual decline, falling from $12.55 in March 31, 2023, to $6.49 by September 30, 2025. This pattern indicates a reduction in earnings quality or profitability in recent periods.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio Trend

The P/E ratio displayed a sharp drop from 36.12 at March 31, 2021, to a low of 12.72 at September 30, 2022, reflecting either rising earnings, declining share price, or both. Starting late 2022 and through 2023, the P/E ratio increased to around 21.14, indicating a higher valuation relative to earnings despite the declining EPS. From 2024 onward, the ratio gradually declined again, ending at 14.33 by September 30, 2025, suggesting a partial market re-rating in light of lower earnings.

Overall Insights

The company experienced a period of robust earnings growth up to the end of 2021, accompanied by share price declines, leading to a compression of the P/E ratio. Following the peak earnings period, both EPS and share price demonstrated weakening trends, particularly notable from 2023 onwards. Market valuations showed some volatility, with temporary expansions in P/E ratios despite declining earnings, indicative of shifts in investor sentiment or external market conditions. The recent downward pressures on share price coupled with declining EPS may warrant further investigation into operational performance and market environment factors affecting profitability and valuation.

The share price exhibited a general decline over the observed quarters, starting from a peak near the 210 US$ mark and progressively dropping towards the lower 90 US$ range by the end of the period. While some fluctuations occurred with intermittent rises, the overall trend indicates a downward movement in market valuation.

Operating profit per share demonstrated an increase during the initial quarters, reaching a high point in late 2021 and early 2022. Following this peak, a gradual decline is visible, although the values remained relatively stable around the 9 to 10 US$ level in the most recent quarters, suggesting some resilience in operational profitability despite the pressure on share price.

The price-to-operating profit ratio (P/OP) showed a decreasing trend from early 2021 toward mid-2022, reflecting a reduction in the multiple at which the market valued the operating profit. However, from that point onward until the mid-2023 period, the P/OP ratio increased again, indicating a temporary re-rating of the stock. Subsequently, the ratio declined once more, reaching lower levels by the end of the timeline, which aligns with the falling share price relative to operating profit.

Overall, the financial data indicates a scenario where the company's operating profitability per share has remained fairly steady after an initial increase, but market valuation has weakened significantly, as reflected in the share price decline and fluctuating P/OP ratio. This divergence could imply market concerns or external factors affecting investor sentiment despite consistent operational earnings.

Share Price

Downward trend from approximately 210 US$ to below 100 US$ over the period, with intermittent fluctuations.

Operating Profit Per Share

Increase through early 2022, stabilizing near 9 to 10 US$ in recent quarters after a peak around 15 US$.

Price-to-Operating Profit Ratio (P/OP)

Declined initially, rose mid-cycle, and then fell again, signaling varying market revaluation of operating profits.

Insight

Operating profit remained relatively stable post-peak, whereas market valuation weakened substantially, indicating potential investor caution or external market influences.

Share Price Trend

The share price exhibited notable volatility throughout the periods analyzed. Starting from a high of $214.52 at the end of the first quarter in 2021, the price fluctuated, experiencing a general downward trajectory over the subsequent quarters. By the end of the first quarter in 2025, the share price had declined to $92.91, representing a significant decrease from the initial value. Intermittent rises were observed, such as in mid-2021 and early 2023, but these were followed by sustained declines, particularly pronounced from early 2024 onward.

Sales Per Share Pattern

Sales per share showed an initial gradual increase from $102.81 in the first quarter of 2021, peaking at $116.86 in the third quarter of 2022. Following this peak, there was a steady downward trend with minor fluctuations, reaching $105.47 by the first quarter of 2025. The sales per share figures suggest a relatively stable revenue generation capacity per share, with some mild variations but no drastic declines even when the share price dropped significantly.

Price-to-Sales (P/S) Ratio Analysis

The P/S ratio mirrored the decline in share price more closely than sales per share. Beginning at 2.09 in the first quarter of 2021, it decreased over time, indicating that the market valuation relative to sales per share was contracting. By mid-2022, the ratio had dropped to approximately 1.41 and continued to decrease, reaching a trough of 0.81 in mid-2025 before a slight recovery to 0.88 in the final quarter observed. This trend suggests that investors were valuing the company's sales less favorably over time, likely reflecting concerns about growth prospects, profitability, or broader market conditions.

Overall Financial Insights

The combination of a declining share price and falling P/S ratio, despite relatively stable sales per share, indicates a shift in market sentiment that impacted valuation negatively. While sales per share did not show a dramatic decrease, the market adjusted its valuation downward, possibly anticipating challenges ahead or reassessing risk. The consistent decrease in valuation multiples points to a more cautious investor outlook. This pattern warrants further investigation into profitability metrics and operational efficiency to fully understand the underlying factors behind the valuation decline.

The financial data reveals distinct trends concerning the company's share price, book value per share (BVPS), and price-to-book value ratio (P/BV) over the examined periods.

Share Price

The share price exhibited volatility with an overall declining trend from March 31, 2021, through September 30, 2025. Initially, the share price fluctuated between approximately 183.8 and 214.52 US dollars, showing some short-term recoveries within 2021 and the first half of 2022. However, from mid-2022 onward, the share price demonstrated a more consistent downward movement, reaching a low near 86.25 US dollars by June 30, 2025. Small rallies occurred intermittently, but they did not offset the broader decline observed throughout the timeline.

Book Value per Share (BVPS)

The BVPS showed a generally increasing trajectory during the initial periods, rising from 8.21 US dollars at the end of Q1 2021 to a peak above 23 US dollars at the end of 2022. Following this increase, the BVPS plateaued and slightly decreased in subsequent quarters, stabilizing around 18.5 to 20 US dollars through the later periods up to September 2025. This pattern suggests initial growth in net asset value per share, followed by a period of stability with minor erosion.

Price-to-Book Value Ratio (P/BV)

The P/BV ratio reflected the inverse relationship between share price and BVPS. It started extremely high at over 26 times at the beginning of 2021, then showed a marked decline as BVPS increased and share price decreased. This ratio progressively declined to below 5 times by mid-2025, indicating the market's valuation of the company's share price relative to its book value per share became more conservative over time. The declining ratio can be interpreted as the market assigning less premium to the company's net assets or reflecting concerns over growth prospects or other risks.

Overall, the observed trends highlight a period of expanding book value per share accompanied by weakening share price performance. This divergence caused a consistent reduction in the price-to-book ratio, pointing to diminishing investor confidence or reassessment of value despite improvements in net asset measurements. The data suggests challenges in translating asset growth into market capitalization gains during the analyzed quarters.