EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON INC (EXPD)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements Under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995; Certain Cautionary Statements

Certain portions of this report on Form 10-Q including the sections entitled "Overview," "Summary of Second Quarter 2026," "Industry Trends, Trade Conditions and Competition," "Seasonality," "Critical Accounting Estimates," "Results of Operations," "Income tax expense," "Currency and Other Risk Factors" and "Liquidity and Capital Resources" contain forward-looking statements. Words such as "will likely result," "expects", "are expected to," "would expect," "would not expect," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," "provisional," "plan," "believe," "probable," "reasonably possible," "may," "could," "should," "would," "intends," "foreseeable future" or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, any statements that refer to projections of future financial performance, our anticipated growth and trends in the Company's businesses, signs of a slowing economy and drop in demand, future supply chain and transportation disruptions and other characterizations of disruptive events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the impact of tariffs or other government actions on global trade volumes and economies, and tax audits and other contingencies that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These statements must be considered in connection with the discussion of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Attention should be given to the risk factors identified and discussed in Part I, Item 1A in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on February 25, 2026. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of this filing date and we do not assume any obligations to update these statements except as required by law.

Overview

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (herein referred to as "Expeditors," the "Company," "we," "us," "our") provides a full suite of global logistics services. Our services include air and ocean freight consolidation and forwarding, customs brokerage, warehousing and distribution, purchase order management, vendor consolidation, time-definite transportation services, temperature-controlled transit, cargo insurance, specialized cargo monitoring and tracking, and other supply chain solutions. We do not compete for overnight courier or small parcel business. As a non-asset-based carrier, we do not own or operate transportation assets.

We derive our revenues by entering into agreements that are generally comprised of a single performance obligation, which is that freight is shipped for and received by our customer. Each performance obligation is comprised of one or more of the Company's services. We typically satisfy our performance obligations as services are rendered over time. A typical shipment would include services rendered at origin, such as pick-up and delivery to port, freight services from origin to destination port and destination services, such as customs clearance and final delivery. Our principal services are the revenue categories presented in our financial statements: 1) airfreight services, 2) ocean freight and ocean services, and 3) customs brokerage and other services. The most significant drivers of changes in gross revenues and related transportation expenses are volume, sell rates and buy rates. Volume has a similar effect on the change in both gross revenues and related transportation expenses in each of our three primary sources of revenue.

We generate the major portion of our air and ocean freight revenues by purchasing transportation services on a volume basis from direct (asset-based) carriers and then reselling that space to our customers. The rate billed to our customers (the sell rate) is recognized as revenues and the rate we pay to the carrier (the buy rate) is recognized in operating expenses as the directly related cost of transportation and other expenses. By consolidating shipments from multiple customers and concentrating our buying power, we are able to negotiate favorable buy rates from the direct carriers, while at the same time offering lower sell rates than customers would otherwise be able to negotiate themselves.

In most cases, we act as an indirect carrier. When acting as an indirect carrier, we issue a House Air Waybill (HAWB), a House Ocean Bill of Lading (HOBL) or a House Sea Waybill to customers as the contract of carriage. In turn, when the freight is physically tendered to a direct carrier, we receive a contract of carriage known as a Master Air Waybill for airfreight shipments and a Master Ocean Bill of Lading for ocean shipments.

Customs brokerage and other services involve providing services at destination, such as helping customers clear shipments through customs by preparing and filing required documentation, calculating, and providing for payment of duties and other taxes on behalf of customers as well as arranging for any required inspections by governmental agencies, and import services such as arranging for local pick up, storage and delivery at destination. These are complicated functions requiring technical knowledge of customs rules and regulations in the multitude of countries in which we have offices. We also provide other value-added services at destination, such as warehousing and distribution, time-definitive transportation services and consulting.

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We manage our company along geographic areas of responsibility: Americas; North Asia; South Asia; Europe; and Middle East, Africa and India (MAIR). Each area is divided into sub-regions that are composed of operating units with individual profit and loss responsibility. Our business involves shipments between operating units and typically touches more than one geographic area. The nature of the international logistics business necessitates a high degree of communication and cooperation among operating units. Because of this inter-relationship between operating units, it is very difficult to examine any one geographic area and draw meaningful conclusions as to its contribution to our overall success on a stand-alone basis.

Our operating units share revenue using the same arm's-length pricing methodologies that we use when our offices transact business with independent agents. Certain costs are allocated among the segments based on the relative value of the underlying services, which can include allocation based on actual costs incurred or estimated cost plus a profit margin. Our strategy closely links compensation with operating unit profitability, which includes shared revenues and allocated costs. Therefore, individual success is closely linked to cooperation with other operating units within our network. The mix of services varies by segment based primarily on the import or export orientation of local operations in each of our regions.

Summary of Second Quarter 2026

The significant impacts as compared to second quarter of 2025 are discussed within “Results of Operations” and summarized below.

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Revenues increased 32% due to strong performance and volumes in most services.

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Airfreight services revenues increased 57% and customs brokerage and other services revenues increased 27%.

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Airfreight services, road freight and warehousing and distribution services (included with customs brokerage and other services) all benefited from continued strong demand from our technology customers investing in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

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Revenue from ocean freight and other services increased 5% as average buy and sell rates and ocean containers shipped started increasing in the latter part of the quarter following three consecutive quarters of declines.

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We announced a restructuring of our Global Technology group and incurred $25 million in related expenses.

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Operating income increased 41% and net earnings to shareholders increased 45%, as compared to the second quarter of 2025.

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Earnings per share increased 51% to $2.03.

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Cash from operating activities was $179 million for both the second quarter of 2026 and 2025.

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We returned $461 million to shareholders through common stock repurchases and dividends.

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Industry Trends, Trade Conditions and Competition

We operate in over 60 countries in the competitive global logistics industry and our activities are closely tied to the global economy. International trade is influenced by many factors, including economic and political conditions in the United States and abroad, currency exchange rates, laws and policies relating to tariffs, trade restrictions, foreign investment and taxation. Governments periodically consider changes to tariffs and impose trade restrictions and accords. Starting in the first quarter of 2025, the United States Government undertook a substantial global trade rebalancing effort resulting in significantly higher tariffs on imports. Throughout 2025 additional tariffs on imports into the United States for certain sectors and many countries became effective. There are currently threatened or actual retaliatory tariffs and trade actions from several countries, including China and Canada. On February 20, 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on certain tariffs imposed in the United States under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The ruling invalidates the IEEPA tariffs imposed on imports to the United States in 2025, however it does not invalidate sectoral tariffs such as metals, auto parts, timber, lumber, and derivative products. The decision also allows for potential refunds; and, starting in April 2026 U.S. Customs and Border Protection implemented procedures for importers and their brokers to submit refund requests. In addition, ongoing and potential future trade actions, including sector-based and country specific and broader action-based measures continue to create uncertainty with respect to current and future U.S. trade policy and impact global trade flows. New U.S. tariffs have been broadly imposed across a variety of countries in July 2026. We cannot predict how other countries will respond to these tariffs or how changes in tariffs and trade restrictions will affect our business. Additionally, changes in trade and customs brokerage regulations continue to add complexity to the customs declarations process, making compliance with regulations increasingly challenging.

Doing business in foreign locations also subjects us to a variety of risks and considerations not normally encountered by domestic enterprises. In addition to being influenced by governmental policies and inter-governmental disputes concerning international trade, our business may also be negatively affected by political developments and changes in government personnel or policies in the United States and other countries, as well as economic turbulence, conflicts, political unrest and security concerns in the nations and on the trade shipping routes in which we conduct business. Starting in late February 2026 the operations of our offices in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates were disrupted by the conflict with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has affected available airfreight capacity beyond the Middle East, prevented cargo ships from navigating through the Persian Gulf, and substantial resumption of traffic through the Suez Canal. The impact on capacity and oil prices resulted in air and ocean carriers

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ITEM 7 — MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. provides a full suite of global logistics services. Our services include air and ocean freight consolidation and forwarding, customs brokerage, warehousing and distribution, purchase order management, vendor consolidation, time-definite transportation services, temperature-controlled transit, cargo insurance, specialized cargo monitoring and tracking, and other supply chain solutions. We do not compete for overnight courier or small parcel business. As a non-asset-based carrier, we do not own or operate transportation assets.

We derive our revenues by entering into agreements that are generally comprised of a single performance obligation, which is that freight is shipped for and received by our customer. Each performance obligation is comprised of one or more of the Company's services. We typically satisfy our performance obligations as services are rendered over time. A typical shipment would include services rendered at origin, such as pick-up and delivery to port, freight services from origin to destination port and destination services, such as customs clearance and final delivery. Our three principal services are the revenue categories presented in our financial statements: 1) airfreight services, 2) ocean freight and ocean services, and 3) customs brokerage and other services. The most significant drivers of changes in gross revenues and related transportation expenses are volume, sell rates and buy rates. Volume has a similar effect on the change in both gross revenues and related transportation expenses in each of our three primary sources of revenue.

We generate the major portion of our air and ocean freight revenues by purchasing transportation services on a volume basis from direct (asset-based) carriers and then reselling that space to our customers. The rate billed to our customers (the sell rate) is recognized as revenues and the rate we pay to the carrier (the buy rate) is recognized in operating expenses as the directly related cost of transportation and other expenses. By consolidating shipments from multiple customers and concentrating our buying power, we are able to negotiate favorable buy rates from the direct carriers, while at the same time offering lower sell rates than customers would otherwise be able to negotiate themselves.

In most cases we act as an indirect carrier. When acting as an indirect carrier, we issue a House Airway Bill (HAWB), a House Ocean Bill of Lading (HOBL) or a House Sea Waybill to customers as the contract of carriage. In turn, when the freight is physically tendered to a direct carrier, we receive a contract of carriage known as a Master Airway Bill for airfreight shipments and a Master Ocean Bill of Lading (MOBL) for ocean shipments.

Customs brokerage and other services involve providing services at destination, such as helping customers clear shipments through customs by preparing and filing required documentation, calculating and providing for payment of duties and other taxes on behalf of customers as well as arranging for any required inspections by governmental agencies, and import services such as arranging for local pick up, storage and delivery at destinations. These are complicated functions requiring technical knowledge of customs rules and regulations in the multitude of countries in which we have offices. We also provide other value-added services at destination, such as warehousing and distribution, time-definitive transportation services and consulting.

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We manage our company along five geographic areas of responsibility: Americas; North Asia; South Asia; Europe; and Middle East, Africa and India (MAIR). Each area is divided into sub-regions that are composed of operating units with individual profit and loss responsibility. Our business involves shipments between operating units and typically touches more than one geographic area. The nature of the international logistics business necessitates a high degree of communication and cooperation among operating units. Because of this inter-relationship between operating units, it is very difficult to examine any one geographic area and draw meaningful conclusions as to its contribution to our overall success on a stand-alone basis. The following chart shows revenues by geographic areas of responsibility for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023:

Our operating units share revenue using the same arms-length pricing methodologies that we use when our offices transact business with independent agents. Certain costs are allocated among the segments based on the relative value of the underlying services, which can include allocation based on actual costs incurred or estimated cost plus a profit margin. Our strategy closely links compensation with operating unit profitability, which includes shared revenues and allocated costs. Therefore, individual success is closely linked to cooperation with other operating units within our network. The mix of services varies by segment based primarily on the import or export orientation of local operations in each of our regions. North Asia is our largest export-oriented region and accounted for 25% of revenues, 30% of directly related cost of transportation and other expenses and 21% of operating income for the year ended December 31, 2025.

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Summary of 2025 versus 2024

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Revenues increased 4% as strong demand for most of our services was partially offset by a drop in ocean revenues.

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The dynamic environment of changing trade tariffs throughout 2025 resulted in shifts in trade volumes to different locations and importers and exporters managing timing of shipments in anticipation of higher trade tariffs. As a result, carriers had to adapt to changing demand creating volatility in average sell rates and buy rates.

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Customs brokerage and other services and airfreight services revenues increased 13% and 9%, respectively.

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Growing complexity in customs brokerage due to the dynamic trade environment has resulted in high demand for our brokerage services resulting in growth in revenues from customs declarations fees, as well as increases in the resources to support that activity.

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Airfreight services, road freight and warehousing and distribution services (included with customs brokerage and other services) all benefited from strong demand from our technology customers investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

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Revenue from ocean freight and other services decreased 11% resulting from significant decreases in average ocean sell rates and buy rates due to overall imbalance between demand and available capacity for ocean transportation due to global trade dynamics.

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Operating income increased 1% and net earnings to shareholders remained flat, while earnings per share increased 4%.

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Cash from operations was $1.0 billion, up from $723 million in 2024.

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We returned $875 million to shareholders through common stock repurchases and dividends.

Industry trends, trade conditions and competition

We operate in over 60 countries in the competitive global logistics industry and our activities are closely tied to the global economy. International trade is influenced by many factors, including economic and political conditions in the United States and abroad, currency exchange rates, laws and policies relating to tariffs, trade restrictions, foreign investment, and taxation. Governments periodically consider changes to tariffs, and impose trade restrictions and accords. Currently, the United States Government has undertaken a substantial global trade rebalancing effort resulting in significantly higher tariffs on imports. Increased tariffs on certain sectors for Canada, China, and Mexico took effect in the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, reciprocal tariffs on certain countries were expected to take effect in April 2025, and were later postponed to July and August 2025, while trade negotiations by country were taking place. In the third quarter additional tariffs were imposed on imports from most countries including India, Brazil, and Japan. The United States has also imposed significantly higher tariffs on goods made in China. Additionally, sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum and their derivative products, as well as investigations were launched on other commodities since the second quarter of 2025. These measures have led to threatened or actual retaliatory tariffs and trade actions from several countries, including China and Canada. The "de minimis" exemption, which exempted goods made in China and Hong Kong of less than $800 in commercial value from tariffs and entry submission, was terminated on May 2, 2025, and expanded to all countries on August 29, 2025. The potential for further tariff changes and trade restrictions remains high, creating an unpredictable environment for international trade. Changes in import and regulations may further impact the flow of trade and the global economy. On February 20, 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on certain tariffs imposed in the United States under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The ruling invalidates many of the tariffs imposed on imports to the United States in 2025. The decision also allows for potential refunds; however the process to issue any such refunds is uncertain and likely subject to pending formal implementation, collection instructions and Court of International Trade decisions. We are currently assessing the impact this ruling and resulting tariff changes will have on our customs brokerage services, including post-entry activity. This decision could spur new sectoral tariffs in the United States and introduce additional uncertainty with respect to current and future U.S. trade policy and impact global trade flows. We cannot predict how changes in tariffs and trade restrictions will affect our business. Additionally, the constant changes in trade regulations since the beginning of 2025 are adding complexity to the customs declarations process, making compliance with regulations increasingly challenging.

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Doing business in foreign locations also subjects us to a variety of risks and considerations not normally encountered by domestic enterprises. In addition to being influenced by governmental policies and inter-governmental disputes concerning international trade, our business may also be negatively affected by political developments and changes in government personnel or policies in the United States and other countries, as well as economic turbulence, political unrest and security concerns in the nations and on the trade shipping routes in which we conduct business. The future impact that these events may have on international trade, oil prices and security costs is uncertain. We do not have employees, assets, or operations in Russia, Ukraine, Israel, the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. While limited, any shipment activity is conducted with independent agents in those countries in compliance with all applicable trade sanctions, laws and regulations. We have a branch and employees in Lebanon but no significant assets.

Our ability to provide services to our customers is highly dependent on good working relationships with a variety of entities, including airlines, ocean carrier lines and ground transportation providers, as well as governmental agencies. We select and engage with best-in-class, compliance-focused, efficiently run, growth-oriented partners, based upon defined value elements and are intentional in our relationship and performance management activity. We consider our current working relationships with these entities to be satisfactory. However, changes in the financial stability; operating capabilities, and the capacity of asset-based carriers; capacity allotments available from carriers; governmental regulation or deregulat

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