Online shopping surge delivers record revenue for UPS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With millions of households relying on UPS for supplies and, more urgently, just-approved vaccines to combat a raging pandemic, package volumes for the delivery company soared in the fourth quarter and revenue spiked 21%.

Full-year revenue and profit set records.

Revenue reached $24.9 billion, up from $20.57 billion for same three months the previous year ending December 31. That easily beat the $22.87 billion that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

In the U.S., revenue rose 17.4%, driven by growth from small and medium-sized businesses. International revenue increased 26.8%, led by Asia and Europe.

Average daily volume climbed 10.6% for the year.

The company took a number of major charges in the quarter and it swung to a loss of $3.26 billion, or $3.75 per share.

Included in the charges as a $4.9 billion pension charge and a $545 million impairment charge related to the sale of UPS Freight.

Those one-time charges are typically stripped out for comparison by industry analysts. Based on those metrics, UPS earned $2.66 per share, also easily outpacing Wall Street per-share projections of $2.14.

Full-year revenue totaled $84.6 billion, with adjusted profit of $8.23 per share, both records for . UPS Inc.