Shares of freight service veteran UPS (NYSE: UPS) are diving these days. The stock is down 24% in the last six months, building on a longer downturn that started in the inflation panic of 2022.
The steep price drop brought two investor-friendly qualities to UPS. First, this world-class company is hanging out in Wall Street's bargain bin at the moment. Second, the same stock price pressure drove UPS' dividend yield to record-breaking levels.
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Read on to see why you should consider buying some UPS stock on the cheap in June 2025, locking in a great purchase price and a fantastic dividend payout.
It's fair to say that UPS has experienced some financial trouble recently. The pandemic e-commerce boom faded out. The inflation crisis accelerated the package-shipping slowdown. More recently, trade tensions between Washington and Beijing pose new threats to the shipping industry. UPS thrives on high consumer confidence and healthy global trade trends. The company suffers when those market qualities are headed in the wrong direction, as they are in 2025.
So yes, UPS is having some trouble. However, it is well equipped to handle these challenges.
Even in a painful downswing, UPS remains a very profitable business. The company generated $5.9 billion of net income over the last four quarters, converting 92% of the paper profits into free cash flows.
UPS spent all of the cash profits on dividend checks. That's hardly ideal, and the company doesn't have much room for dividend increases in this economy. At the same time, UPS has $5.1 billion in cash reserves and a rock-solid credit rating. The dividend looks safe from cash-preserving cuts in the foreseeable future.
And UPS isn't resting on its laurels. The company plans to boost its profitability over the next year by taking on a smaller number of low-margin shipments. The long-standing partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the main target for this cost-cutting effort, with shipments under the contract halving by the summer of 2026. The move will let UPS close 73 shipping centers and reduce its annual operating time by 25 million hours.
"Amazon is our largest customer but it's not our most profitable customer," CEO Carol Tom said in January's fourth-quarter earnings call. "Our contract with Amazon came up this year. And so we said it's time to step back for a moment and reassess our relationship. Because if we take no action, it will likely result in diminishing returns."
In other words, UPS is taking action to solidify its bottom-line profits. The helpful moves it makes in this challenging economy should translate into stronger earnings in the next macroeconomic upswing.
Image source: Getty Images.
Investing is a marathon, not a sprint. UPS stock is cheap right now for short-sighted reasons. The company should thrive in the long run, equipped with a world-class shipment system and a proactive management team. By focusing on more profitable services, UPS could get back to generous dividend increases in 2026 and beyond.
And in the meantime, the dividend yield stands at an eye-popping 6.7%. It's nearly an all-time record for UPS, and one of the 10 most lucrative yields found in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index. Furthermore, UPS shares are valued at just 14.3 times trailing earnings and 0.9 times sales. These multiples are about half of their long-term averages and nearly equal to the all-time lows seen in the subprime mortgage meltdown of 2008.
Taken together, the rich dividend yield and affordable stock price add up to a great long-term investment. The UPS shares you buy in this temporary dip can help you build wealth in the long run.
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Anders Bylund has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and United Parcel Service. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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