Finance
DHL beats profit forecast helped by early grains from cost-cutting plan
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
DHL exceeded profit forecasts in Q3 due to effective cost-cutting, despite challenges from US tariffs. Revenue fell slightly due to currency and volume changes.
By Anastasiia Kozlova and Matthias Inverardi
(Reuters) -German logistics giant DHL topped market expectations for third-quarter operating profit and reaffirmed its 2025 targets on Thursday, helped by price adjustments and swifter than anticipated gains from a cost-cutting plan.
Shares of the company jumped nearly 7% by 1122 GMT, among top performers on Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index.
DHL, which delivers parcels globally and runs Germany's postal services via Deutsche Post, said its quarterly earnings before interest and taxes grew 7.6% to 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), a 12% beat to analysts' consensus provided by it.
"We are making better progress with cost-savings programme than assumed at the beginning of 2025," finance chief Melanie Kreis said in a press call.
DHL announced its largest cost-cutting programme in two decades in March, in a move to shield its margins at a time when shipping and logistics companies face falling freight rates, weaker demand and a series of trade disruptions.
New import regulations for low-value shipments into the U.S., effective since August, have so far had only a limited impact on DHL's earnings, it said, adding the confirmed guidance did not account for further potential escalation in tariffs or trade policies.
The company also said the fourth quarter had started with no surprises, although it warned of continued pressure from weak macroeconomic conditions.
TARIFFS AFFECT SHIPMENTS IN AND OUT OF THE U.S.
The logistics group's quarterly revenue dropped 2.3% to 20.1 billion euros, dragged by currency exchange rates and lower volumes on U.S. routes.
DHL CEO Tobias Meyer said President Donald Trump's trade barriers were primarily affecting trade routes into the United States, but there were also effects on exports from the country.
Tariffs raise the cost of materials and intermediate goods used in U.S. production, which makes American products less competitive on the global market, Meyer told Reuters.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi and Anastasiia Kozlova, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
Operating profit is the income generated from regular business operations, excluding any income derived from non-operating activities. It reflects the efficiency of a company's core business functions.
Cost-cutting initiatives are strategies implemented by companies to reduce expenses and improve profitability. These can include layoffs, reducing overhead, and optimizing operational processes.
Market outlook refers to the anticipated future performance of a market or industry based on current trends, economic indicators, and other relevant factors.
Revenue is the total income generated by a company from its business activities, typically through sales of goods or services before any expenses are deducted.
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