UPS COO's retirement overshadows e-commerce fueled profit rise - Reuters
United Parcel Service Inc’s e-commerce fueled quarterly profit beat on Tuesday was overshadowed by news that Jim Barber, widely viewed as the world’s biggest parcel delivery firm’s next leader, would retire at year-end.
Shares in Atlanta-based UPS fell 5 percent to $112.59 on news of the departure of Chief Operating Officer Barber, who oversees the company’s global small package, freight, supply chain, freight forwarding and engineering, and was instrumental in the company’s turnaround.
“Investors assumed he was going to be the next CEO and this caught us by surprise. Unfortunately the market does not like surprises,” Seaport Global analyst Kevin Sterling said.
United Parcel Service Inc’s e-commerce fueled quarterly profit beat on Tuesday was overshadowed by news that Jim Barber, widely viewed as the world’s biggest parcel delivery firm’s next leader, would retire at year-end.
Shares in Atlanta-based UPS fell 5 percent to $112.59 on news of the departure of Chief Operating Officer Barber, who oversees the company’s global small package, freight, supply chain, freight forwarding and engineering, and was instrumental in the company’s turnaround.
“Investors assumed he was going to be the next CEO and this caught us by surprise. Unfortunately the market does not like surprises,” Seaport Global analyst Kevin Sterling said.
