Set in July 1995, this case invites students to assess the financial performance of Federal Express and United Parcel Service, two close competitors in the U.S. overnight express package-delivery industry. Although the case requires no numerical computations, it does ask students to interpret results and reflect on the implications. The contrasting financial records of the two firms afford a platform for exploring several important issues, including (1) the definition and use of "economic value added" (EVA) as a measure of corporate performance; (2) a comparison of EVA with other classic approaches of historical performance analysis; (3) the exercise of skills in business-segment analysis; (4) the exploration of the financial implications of intense competition and corporate transformation; and (5) the definition of "excellence" from a corporate-finance point of view.
