DHL Group has raised its earnings outlook for 2026 after reporting preliminary second-quarter results that exceeded market expectations.
The company said business continued to improve during the second quarter. Higher demand boosted revenue and earnings, particularly at DHL Express. Cost savings from the Fit for Growth programme also supported profitability.
Group revenue increased by more than 10% year-on-year in the second quarter.
Group EBIT reached around €1.85 billion. That compares with €1.43 billion in the same period last year, representing an increase of about 29%.
DHL Express delivered the strongest performance. EBIT rose to around €1.2 billion from €730 million a year earlier. The company attributed the improvement to the return of shipment weight growth. Around €150 million of the result also came from capacity constraints in the air freight market.
DHL Global Forwarding reported EBIT of around €240 million, up from €196 million in the second quarter of 2025. The result included a low-to-mid double-digit million euro benefit from managing market disruptions.
DHL Supply Chain generated EBIT of around €305 million. The prior-year result of €348 million included one-off positive items worth €54 million.
DHL eCommerce reported EBIT of around €50 million, slightly below last year’s €56 million. A one-off gain of around €20 million from an acquisition in Iberia was offset by other non-recurring negative items.
Post & Parcel Germany recorded EBIT of around €135 million, compared with €166 million a year earlier.
Following the stronger-than-expected performance, DHL Group has increased its full-year guidance.
The company now expects Group EBIT to exceed €6.5 billion in 2026, compared with its previous forecast of more than €6.2 billion.
DHL also raised its earnings outlook for its logistics divisions. Combined EBIT is now expected to exceed €5.9 billion, up from the previous guidance of more than €5.6 billion.
The outlook for Post & Parcel Germany remains unchanged at more than €900 million in EBIT. The company also maintained its guidance for Group Functions at around negative €400 million.
DHL Group will publish its full second-quarter 2026 results on 5 August.
