A high-powered executive is warning that his business is about to slow down — all because he sees turbulence ahead for the U.S. economy. 

John Dietrich, CFO of FedEx, just slashed the company’s earnings expectations for the rest of the year. 

FedEx has a unique vantage point.  

With shipping data that acts as a real-time pulse check on consumer demand and domestic trade, the company feels the impact of supply chain disruptions, retail slowdowns, and manufacturing shifts before most analysts can even crunch the numbers. 

And now, the company is bracing for a slowdown in 2025. 

‘I think it’s reasonable to assume that the macro environment is not going to significantly improve, at least through the first half of fiscal 2026,’ Dietrich said.

The downbeat forecast follows a strong quarter, with FedEx beating Wall Street expectations to start the year. 

But despite the solid earnings, the company’s stock has tumbled through the beginning of the year, falling more than 11 percent since January.

Investors often look at logistics companies as bellwether indicators for the economy

The bellwether’s stock has dropped more than any major index. 

But this year, the company’s stock price has declined faster than any of the major indexes: its down more than 11 percent since January. 

FedEx’s cautious outlook taps into a broader unease among executives. (Hawk-eyed observers noted that top bosses at 60 companies used the term ‘uncertainty’ 117 different times during the recent earnings season.)

Behind closed doors, many company leaders are reportedly frustrated with the Trump administration’s decisions on tariffs on Canada and Mexico. 

President Trump has shifted the policy several times, launching full-scale 25 percent import taxes on all goods in February and a second time in March, only to postpone the tariffs both times. 

Now, the administration said it will re-re-launch the tariffs on April 2: but they will likely be more precise and target specific economic sectors. 

But businesses aren’t fully aware of the President’s next moves. That uncertainty has left executives on shaky ground when it comes to their future investments, experts told DailyMail.com. 

‘It is very difficult for [companies] to plan against this kind of background noise, which is why executives are flagging the uncertainty on their earnings calls,’ Neil Saunders, the managing director of retail at GlobalData, previously said. 

FedEx’s CFO warned the company is expected to see softer numbers in 2025

FedEx said it expects lower sales growth this year – it believes businesses won’t ship as many goods this year

‘The changes are unnerving consumers and making them unsure about the future. This impacts their willingness to spend.’ 

FedEx isn’t the only major company that is warning about an expected economic showdown. 

Walmart also said it believes it’s growth will cut by a third in 2025. 

Billionaires Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink, the heads of JP Morgan Chase and Blackrock, both said that we are experiencing a slowdown in the American economy right now.  

Best Buy and Target are also warning customers that they will have to increase prices on popular goods because of the trade policies.

Meanwhile, President Trump himself has warned about a similarly bleak economic outlook for the year. 

‘There may be a little bit of an adjustment period – you have to bear with me,’ the President said earlier this year. 

‘Tariffs are about Making America Great Again. There may be a little disturbance.’ 

FedEx’s stock (and all three major indexes) rose on the news that Trump was taking a more measured tariff approach on March 24.