Good morning,

Amazon has launched Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), opening its end-to-end logistics network — spanning freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and last-mile delivery — to businesses beyond its own marketplace.

The move effectively turns Amazon’s internal supply chain into a commercial product. Shares of FedEx and UPS fell in early trading on May 4, dropping 2.4% and 1.8%, respectively, after Amazon unveiled its Amazon Supply Chain Services.

Let’s dive into today’s edition.

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Amazon delivered a strong first quarter, with net sales rising 17% to $181.5 billion, underscoring continued momentum in its core retail business even as the company invests heavily across its network.

Growth was led by its stores and marketplace operations, where online sales increased 12%, and third-party seller services climbed 14%, reflecting deeper merchant participation and higher fulfillment throughput.

Paid units grew 15% year over year—the fastest pace since the pandemic era—while Amazon pushed further into rapid delivery, surpassing 1 billion items delivered same-day or overnight in 2026 so far. That acceleration is being supported by rising logistics spend, with shipping costs up 14%, signaling continued investment in last-mile infrastructure.

Third-party sellers now account for roughly 60% of total units sold, highlighting how the platform’s growth is increasingly driven by external merchants leveraging Amazon’s fulfillment and distribution network.

Walmart is accelerating its push into region-specific products, expanding locally tailored assortments across markets such as Florida and Texas to drive store traffic and sustain sales growth amid weakening consumer sentiment.

The strategy goes beyond traditional regional merchandising. Walmart is using a combination of data and merchant input to identify hyper-local demand signals—ranging from Cuban-style coffee in Florida to locally preferred condiment brands in other states—and rapidly integrate those products into store shelves.

The move comes as U.S. consumers grow more cautious, pressured by higher fuel costs and broader economic uncertainty. In that environment, retailers are competing less on assortment size and more on relevance, offering products that resonate locally and give shoppers a reason to visit stores more frequently.

UPS reported first-quarter revenue of $21.2 billion, down 1.6% year over year but still ahead of analyst estimates—marking its fifth consecutive quarterly beat. Despite the top-line outperformance, net income fell 27% to $864 million, and shares declined as the company kept its full-year outlook unchanged at roughly $89.7 billion.

Average daily package volume dropped 7.7% to 19.18 million, reflecting continued weakness in U.S. demand, while domestic package revenue fell 2.3% for a fourth straight quarter. At the same time, revenue per package rose 7.7% to $15.32, indicating pricing discipline is offsetting part of the volume decline.

International operations provided some support, with revenue rising 3.8% to $4.54 billion, but supply chain revenue fell 6.5%. Additionally, UPS announced it will close 27 additional parcel facilities in the second quarter of 2026. This brings the total planned closures for 2026 to 51 facilities, as the company seeks to slash costs and reconfigure its logistics network.

U.S.-based video game retailer GameStop has made a $55.5 billion, non-binding offer to acquire eBay, positioning the deal as a way to build a scaled competitor to Amazon in online commerce.

Best known for its mall-based stores and its role in the 2021 meme-stock surge, GameStop made an unsolicited $55.5 billion offer for eBay, proposing $125 a share—a 46% premium.

According to CNBC, GameStop plans to fund the deal through a mix of $20 billion in debt and its existing $9.4 billion cash reserves, while targeting $2 billion in annual cost cuts, largely from eBay’s sales and marketing spend.

In a letter to eBay’s board, Ryan Cohen, CEO of GameStop, said the merger could deliver cost savings and earnings growth, adding that GameStop’s roughly 1,600 U.S. stores would create a national network for authentication, intake, fulfillment, and live commerce.

Hershey reported first-quarter net income of $435 million, nearly doubling year over year, as aggressive price increases helped offset declining volumes and rising input costs. Net sales rose 11% to $3.1 billion, ahead of expectations, driven largely by a roughly 10% increase in pricing, while volumes fell 2% as consumers adjusted to higher shelf prices.

Performance was uneven across segments. North America salty snacks surged 26%, supported by the integration of the LesserEvil acquisition, while the core confectionery business grew 8.3%, indicating continued resilience in core categories. International sales rose 16%, reflecting both pricing and expansion in select markets.

Hershey’s reaffirmed outlook—4% to 5% sales growth and up to 35% earnings expansion—suggests confidence that pricing and mix can continue to sustain margins, even as underlying consumption shows early signs of strain.

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Pop Mart saw U.S. sales fall 45% in March, a sharp reversal from 130% growth in January and 41% in February, signaling a cooling of demand after last year’s viral success of its Labubu character.

The slowdown is significant because the U.S. has become the company’s largest overseas market, accounting for 18% of revenue (about 6.8 billion yuan), up from just 5.5% a year earlier. The earlier surge was driven almost entirely by Labubu, whose global popularity pushed the company's total revenue past 37 billion yuan.

The latest data suggests demand may be normalizing as the novelty fades, raising concerns about Pop Mart’s reliance on a single breakout IP. Analysts say sustaining growth will require developing new scalable characters and improving store productivity, particularly in the U.S., where its retail footprint remains limited compared with China.

FedEx and UPS are preparing to refund tariff-related shipping costs to customers following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated tariffs imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Both carriers say they will pass through refunds once funds are received, though details on how this will be executed remain limited. UPS said it has established an internal process to reimburse customers for eligible shipments in which it served as the importer of record, adding that it will expand its efforts as additional phases roll out.

FedEx, which has already filed claims through the same system, said its intent is to return funds to “shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges,” though timing remains uncertain.

UPS alone estimates that it collected more than $5 billion in tariff-related charges and has already submitted claims through the government’s CAPE portal. Across the system, more than 75,000 refund requests have been filed, but only about 3% have been processed so far.

Target has opened a 1.2 million-square-foot Receive Center in Houston, a new type of facility designed to intake goods from global vendors and hold inventory closer to demand before distribution. The $265 million site will support six regional distribution centers and one flow center, helping improve inventory timing and reduce congestion across the network.

Positioned between Target’s import warehouses in Georgia and Washington, the Houston facility adds upstream capacity—allowing the company to delay allocation decisions until demand signals are clearer, particularly for seasonal and hard-to-forecast products. This setup reduces transport distances and improves in-stock reliability across its more than 2,000 stores.

According to the retailer, expanded capacity like this is particularly useful for seasonal, bulky, and hard-to-forecast items, or products with long lead times. It also allows Target to secure high-demand inventory earlier — such as trending holiday items — ensuring the right assortment is available when demand peaks.

Saks Global has received court approval to send its bankruptcy restructuring plan to creditors for a vote, a key step toward exiting Chapter 11 after filing with $3.4 billion in debt earlier this year. The plan would wipe out existing equity and hand control of the company to senior lenders, with votes due by June 1.

Under the proposal, lenders will provide $1 billion in new funding during bankruptcy and commit an additional $500 million post-exit, while Saks reshapes into a smaller company after closing more than half of its Saks Fifth Avenue stores and exiting off-price operations. The restructuring also includes a litigation trust aimed at recovering value for junior creditors owed about $1.5 billion.

As part of the overhaul, Saks is also cutting about 16% of its corporate workforce—roughly 640 roles—as it streamlines operations and reduces its footprint following store closures and integration challenges tied to its Neiman Marcus deal.