FedEx Corporation
Logistics & Courier ServicesFounded 1971- Updated June 2026
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Last reviewed: June 2026
CorpDigest
FedEx Corporation
Company History
Founded 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee
Last reviewed: 2026-06-03 · By Swet Parvadiya
FedEx Corporation — known formally as Federal Express when it launched commercial operations in April 1973 — did not simply enter the shipping industry. FedEx Corporation is a Memphis, Tennessee-based global logistics and transportation company founded in 1971 by Frederick W. Smith. FedEx Express: The Original Engine Originally built as a competitor to UPS in the business-to-business ground parcel market following the 1998 acquisition of Caliber System's RPS division, Ground expanded aggressively into residential delivery as e-commerce exploded. FedEx's Memphis headquarters is no accident — the city was chosen by founder Frederick Smith specifically because of its central geographic location, excellent weather patterns that minimize air traffic disruption, and the presence of Memphis International Airport, which has been the world's busiest cargo airport for many years running.
The origin of FedEx is one of the most compelling founding narratives in American business — a story that involves academic dismissal, family inheritance, gambling, near-bankruptcy, and ultimately the creation of an entirely new industry category. His father, James Frederick Smith, had founded the Toddle House restaurant chain before dying when Frederick was four years old, leaving an estate that would eventually provide the capital seed for FedEx. In 1971, Smith incorporated Federal Express Corporation and began the multi-year process of raising capital and securing regulatory approvals needed to launch commercial operations. The company did not achieve its first profitable month until July 1975, nearly two years after beginning operations.
Frederick W. Smith's biography is inseparable from the history of FedEx itself. Born in Mississippi in 1944 and educated at Yale University, Smith developed the express delivery concept as an undergraduate and spent seven years between graduation and the company's first commercial flight in 1973 raising capital, navigating regulation, and building the infrastructure required to realize his vision. His Marine Corps service in Vietnam shaped a management philosophy centered on mission clarity, team loyalty, and decentralized execution that permeated FedEx's culture for decades. Under his leadership, FedEx grew from a startup delivering 186 packages on its first night to a global enterprise processing more than 16 million daily shipments across 220 countries. Smith received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. He stepped down as CEO in June 2022 but remained as executive chairman, transitioning strategic leadership to Raj Subramaniam while retaining board-level influence over the company's long-term direction.
Frederick W. Smith incorporates Federal Express Corporation in Little Rock, Arkansas, and begins the process of raising the capital needed to launch commercial air cargo operations based on his hub-and-spoke overnight delivery model.
On April 17, 1973, Federal Express completes its first commercial delivery night, with 14 Dassault Falcon 20 jets departing Memphis International Airport and delivering 186 packages across 25 American cities.
In July 1975, Federal Express records its first profitable month after more than two years of sustained losses, marking the inflection point at which growing volume finally surpasses the company's significant fixed-cost base.
The Air Cargo Deregulation Act frees Federal Express from Civil Aeronautics Board weight restrictions, allowing the company to operate larger Boeing 727 aircraft that dramatically improve per-flight economics and accelerate network expansion.
Federal Express completes its initial public offering in April 1978 at $3 per share, providing capital for network expansion and representing the first significant institutional validation of the company's commercial model.
Federal Express becomes the first U.S. Company to reach $1 billion in revenue within its first decade of operations without making an acquisition, a milestone that validates organic growth as the foundation of its expansion strategy.
FedEx launches online package tracking on its website — one of the first commercial applications of internet-based customer service — allowing customers to trace shipments in real time before most Americans were regular internet users.
Federal Express acquires Caliber System Inc. For approximately $2.4 billion, gaining the RPS ground delivery network that becomes FedEx Ground, the Viking Freight LTL network, and other logistics assets that transform the company from an express carrier into a full-spectrum logistics provider.
The parent company rebrands as FedEx Corporation to reflect its expanded portfolio, while Federal Express becomes FedEx Express — one of several operating companies under the FedEx holding structure.
FedEx acquires TNT Express, Europe's second-largest express delivery company, for approximately $4.4 billion, gaining a pan-European ground delivery network intended to challenge DHL's dominant market position on the continent.
The NotPetya malware attack in June 2017 destroys TNT Express's IT infrastructure, causing FedEx to acknowledge losses exceeding $400 million and delaying the TNT integration by approximately three years.
New CEO Raj Subramaniam launches the DRIVE transformation program targeting $4 billion in structural cost savings and the consolidation of FedEx Express and FedEx Ground operations into a single unified delivery network, representing the most fundamental reorganization in the company's history.
FedEx announces plans to spin off FedEx Freight as a separately traded public company, intending to unlock shareholder value by allowing the highly profitable less-than-truckload business to be valued independently of the express and ground parcel operations.
The Caliber System acquisition was FedEx's most transformational strategic move since its founding, converting the company from a pure express carrier into a multi-modal logistics provider. Caliber's RPS ground delivery network, which had been built as a direct competitor to UPS in the ground parcel market, gave FedEx the infrastructure to compete in the enormous and fast-growing ground segment without the time and capital required to build a comparable network organically. Additional Caliber assets including Viking Freight and Roberts Express provided LTL and specialty logistics capabilities.
FedEx acquired American Freightways Corporation for approximately $1.2 billion to expand its less-than-truckload freight capacity following the Caliber acquisition. American Freightways was one of the largest regional LTL carriers in the United States, with particular strength in the South and Midwest. The acquisition was intended to complement Caliber's Viking Freight network and create a combined LTL operation with national coverage.
FedEx acquired Kinko's Inc. For approximately $2.4 billion, seeking to create a retail services and business printing chain that would complement FedEx's shipping services and provide a new customer interaction channel for small businesses. The strategic rationale was that co-locating printing, copying, and shipping services in a single retail environment would increase wallet share from SMB customers and provide FedEx with a dense retail footprint for package pickup and drop-off.
FedEx acquired TNT Express for approximately $4.4 billion in a transaction designed to establish FedEx as a genuine pan-European logistics force capable of competing with DHL on its home turf. TNT operated one of the most extensive road delivery networks in Europe, providing the ground infrastructure that FedEx had lacked for penetrating the large European e-commerce and business-to-business markets. TNT also added air and express capabilities in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.