Who Owns FedEx?

Frederick W. Smith conceived the hub-and-spoke overnight delivery model in a 1965 Yale economics paper and founded Federal Express in 1971 in Little Rock, Arkansas, using a $4 million inheritance and roughly $91 million in venture capital, an unusually large raise for the era. Operations began April 17, 1973, from Memphis International Airport with 14 Dassault Falcon jets serving 25 cities. The first night carried just 186 packages.

Growth was rapid once reliability was proven. By 1975 the company was profitable; by the early 1980s it was one of America's fastest-growing corporations. The 1977 air cargo deregulation let it fly larger aircraft, and the 1978 IPO on the NYSE funded expansion. International service began in 1984 with Canadian and European routes.

The 1989 acquisition of Flying Tiger Line gave FedEx Asian routes and heavy-freight capability for $895 million, a deal that established its intercontinental network. The company rebranded from Federal Express to FedEx in 1994, launched fedex.com with real-time tracking in 1995, and in 1998 acquired Caliber System, bringing RPS ground delivery, later rebranded FedEx Ground.

Kinko's followed in 2004 for $2.4 billion, becoming FedEx Office. The company weathered the 2008 recession with pay cuts and capacity reductions, then rode the e-commerce boom of the 2010s. A $4.8 billion acquisition of TNT Express in 2016 strengthened European operations despite a costly 2017 NotPetya cyberattack on TNT systems.

Fred Smith stepped down as CEO in June 2022 after more than 50 years, handing leadership to Rajesh Subramaniam. Under Subramaniam, the company unified its separate operating companies into one Federal Express entity, cut billions in costs through the DRIVE program, and announced the FedEx Freight separation in December 2024. Smith died in June 2025 at age 80. The freight spin-off completed June 1, 2026, and FedEx shifted to a calendar fiscal year effective June 1, 2026.