I have to say that the share price isn't always the boards fault, as the Company is making record profits and has run the business quite well in many ways such as pursuing International and SCS work so that a larger and larger percent of the profit comes either from outside the US, or from providing services other than delivering packages. UPS has excellent margins, and astute advisors such as Warren Buffett, Morningstar, and many others have bought tens of millions of dollars worth of shares indicating that they too believe the shares are underpriced. Fedex has been a darling of the investment community starting back when they really were the best bet in Transportation stocks simply because UPS was private and you couldn't buy it. Unlike UPS they have a reputation for giving conservative forecasts on their earnings, and then beating those forecasts quarter after quarter. We screwed up last year when we missed our forecast (even though it was by only a few cents) because the market is driven by emotion more than by logic much of the time. You can certainly make the argument that the earnings calls which UPS provides seem to regularly disappoint investors and business writers equally even where all the news seems to be good. We are so cash rich that many analysts believe that we aren't leveraging that money as well as we could, although it is also a primary reason we are one of less than a dozen corporations that still have a four star credit rating (and the only transport stock in the group, of course.) We remain far better managed than FDX as evidenced by the fact that we pay almost three times as much as they do for labor costs, and yet still dominate almost every aspect of our industry. It's startling to think that if FDX was unionized, with the same pay and benefits as UPS, they would undeniably be out of business tomorrow. But the board must find a better way to communicate with Wall street. I should add that I heartily agree that some of the management practices being used today are the same ones that supervisors were taught in "Peoples Workshop" training back in the eighties would not work, or would be temporary at best. All UPS'ers are in this together, which is something both sides seem more likely to forget with the present management culture. And before I get off my soapbox, I believe much of it is due to "fast tracking" female management to the extent that many are truly unprepared or incapable of handling the jobs that they are given. There is a female division manager in our District who was a part time supervisor less than five years ago and yet is responsible for both Hub and Air operations- neither of which she ever worked in, herself, in any capacity. Our managers are used to having to train their own bosses, but she not only knows nothing of those operations, she never spent any time in rotational assignments in IE, or HR, or Accounting, as used to be the case, in oder to help prepare Division management for all of their responsibilities. She has an associates degree in a non business field by the way in case anyone thinks she is relying on her education. The Company must get back to the basics that got us here, such as the partnership concept he felt was the single most important aspect of our success. And also the dedication to the customer exemplified by Jim Casey's axiom to "take care of the other mans business, and your own business will take care of itself"
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