XPO finally takes a bite of Apple
In first-ever alliance, XPO will build Apple a 1 million-square-foot distribution center in tiny Indiana town for direct-to-consumer deliveries 4 minutes read XPO inks first-ever deal with Apple as part of a $4 billion spree (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves).
XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE:XPO) said Tuesday that it will build a 1 million-square-foot distribution center for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the small Indiana town of Clayton that will support Apple’s direct-to-consumer distribution and delivery strategy.
XPO’s first-ever contract with the technology titan was part of $4 billion in done deals negotiated by the company’s logistics unit since the start of the year. Included in the basket was an 11-year, $1.2 billion deal with an existing customer that XPO would not identify. The contract is the largest in XPO’s 10-year history.
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In some ways, the Thursday morning call between transport and logistics giant
XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO) and the analysts who cover it was a preview of coming attractions.
Coming off a strong fourth quarter, which included an all-time quarterly revenue record and an earnings-per-share beat of 52 cents, company executives waxed bullish on both the first quarter and the rest of the year. With COVID-19 cases and the corresponding concerns expected to wane through the year, and with macro factors blowing strongly outward, executives were as upbeat about the future as they ve been in some time. That confidence was underscored by a forecast that 2021 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) would rise between 24% and 29% over 2020 levels, and that free cash flow would come in between $600 million and $700 million, up from $554 million in 2020.
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XPO Logistics hired brokers at the bottom of the market to be ready for the upswing and it worked.
Automated tools are improving the efficiency of the brokerage side of XPO s business.
XPO plans to split off its logistics business from brokerage and less-than-truckload by end-of-year.
XPO Logistics doubled down when the trucking market faltered last year, and it paid off.
The logistics giant beat analyst expectations in Q4 as a glut of e-commerce shipments led the company to report its highest single quarterly revenue ever, at $4.67 billion.