DHL Express EBIT jumps 50% as heavy air freight lifts group profit 16%

DHL Express posted a 50% surge in third-quarter operating profit to $1.16 billion, the standout figure in a group quarter that delivered $1.9 billion in EBIT — up 16.2% year over year — on revenue of $25.36 billion, a 12.6% gain.

The Bonn-based group (XETRA: DHL) lifted its operating margin to 7.6%, while diluted earnings per share rose 8.5%. Management had already raised full-year EBIT guidance last month to $7.8 billion from a prior $7.3 billion outlook, and bumped free cash flow projections to $3.6 billion from $3.37 billion.

What is driving the Express windfall?

Transported weight per day at DHL Express grew 9.7%, helped by deliberate pricing and capacity discipline plus two years of structural cost work. The deeper story is a strategy shift: opening the time-definite international air network to industrial shippers moving heavy parts, which command higher rates than parcels and fill DHL's freighters more efficiently.

"There is a customer need for highly reliable on-time delivery of certain industrial, quite often heavier parts. This proposition creates value for our customers and profitable growth for us, and we see it as a multi-year, almost structural growth opportunity, targeting dedicated pockets of the very large cross-border B2B market," Chief Financial Officer Melanie Kreis said during the earnings presentation.

A caveat sits inside the headline number. DHL also benefited from temporary capacity constraints tied to Iran war rerouting and hyperscaler demand — including likely spillover from Middle East carriers and ocean diversions around the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea. That disruption bonus added roughly $112 million in extra EBIT in Q3, down from more than $167 million in the second quarter. As disruption fades, so does that tailwind. Demand surcharges effective Oct. 1 and the usual January general rate increase are expected to hold yields up.

How did forwarding and other units perform?

Global Forwarding raised operating profit 32.7% year over year, with air freight volumes up 12% — particularly strong out of Asia — and ocean freight volumes up 5%, driven by Asia and Europe. On Monday, DHL Global Forwarding appointed Sascha Geiken, previously vice president ocean freight for Middle East and Africa, as CEO for sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa.

• Supply Chain: revenue growth in all regions, with the Americas business contributing strongly in technology and online retail; new contract wins there underpin future growth, alongside continued investment in automation, digitalization and capacity.
• eCommerce: organic revenue growth of about 6%; reported EBIT fell against a prior-year quarter that included $137 million of positive one-offs, with portfolio changes including deconsolidation in the UK and Portugal.
• Post & Parcel Germany: parcel volumes were dented by the EU's abolition of the de minimis exemption on July 1, while structural mail decline continued and higher personnel, energy and transportation costs squeezed operating profit.

Why do data centers matter so much?

Data centers were a major driver of the quarter, validating DHL's cross-modal integrated product for demanding customers, according to Kreis. Most data center freight moves by air so far, but DHL Supply Chain is winning new work in equipment storage, delivery and installation. The group is investing heavily in life sciences and healthcare, EVs and battery storage, e-commerce and data center logistics — verticals where FedEx and UPS are pushing the same end-to-end strategy.

The macro backdrop is doing part of the work. Computers and cloud-computing equipment accounted for 42% of global goods growth in 2025 and about 76% in the first quarter of 2026, according to a DHL report last month drawing on WTO and OECD data. Management argues trade is not slowing despite tariff shocks and the Iran war, projecting growth through 2029 above earlier expectations — though that forecast, like the disruption windfall, depends on conditions holding.