DHL Group on Tuesday raised its full-year earnings outlook after releasing preliminary results for the second quarter, saying a combination of firmer demand and a reduced cost base produced stronger-than-expected performance.
The company now expects group EBIT for 2026 to exceed €6.5 billion, an upward revision from its earlier projection of more than €6.2 billion. Management also increased the combined outlook for its DHL divisions to more than €5.9 billion from a prior expectation above €5.6 billion. The forecast for Post & Parcel Germany was left unchanged at more than €900 million.
For the quarter, group revenue expanded by more than 10% year-over-year, while group EBIT was reported at about €1.85 billion, up 29% from €1.43 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Performance across divisions was mixed. DHL Express produced around €1.20 billion of EBIT for the quarter, up from €730 million a year earlier. The Express division benefited from a return to weight growth as well as roughly €150 million in gains tied to capacity constraints in the air freight market.
DHL Global Forwarding generated roughly €240 million of EBIT, compared with €196 million a year earlier. DHL Supply Chain posted earnings near €305 million, down from €348 million in the prior-year quarter, which had included positive non-recurring effects of €54 million. DHL eCommerce reported about €50 million of EBIT, modestly below the prior-year level of €56 million. Post & Parcel Germany delivered approximately €135 million of EBIT, versus €166 million in the second quarter of 2025.
The company attributed the improved results to sustained demand growth, particularly within DHL Express, and a leaner cost structure resulting from its Fit for Growth efficiency program. The release noted the prior-year quarter had been influenced by customs and trade policy conditions, which affected comparability.
DHL Group said it will publish its complete second-quarter report on August 5, 2026.
Context for markets and sectors
The results have implications for logistics and transport markets where capacity dynamics in air freight and demand patterns in express parcel services are key drivers of profitability. Corporate cost programs also play a material role in near-term earnings resilience.