L'action GXO fell more than 10% on Wednesday, after the release of its second-quarter results. The decline came despite commercial growth that the group describes as the strongest of the past three years.
GXO recorded a 34% increase in new commercial business over the period, for a total of $410 million in new commitments. Revenue for the quarter stood at $3.4 billion, up 4.3%. But the adjusted EBITDA margin remained stable at 6.4% of total revenue, a sign of the pressures weighing on profitability despite the commercial momentum.
A margin gap to close
PDG Patrick Kelleher publicly acknowledged the difficulty. « Nous sommes très concentrés sur la réduction de cet écart pour surpasser la performance de nos pairs », he said during Wednesday's earnings call. Chief Financial Officer Mark Suchinski said for his part: « Des signes de reprise vont apparaître au quatrième trimestre, puis cela s'accélérera en 2027. »
GXO stated it has already secured $1 billion in incremental revenue for 2026, as well as $353 million in revenue for 2027. Environ 40% of the new business won comes from strategic verticals such as aerospace, defense, technology, data centers, industrials and life sciences. The quarter's largest contract was signed with a new partner described as a major « hyperscaler », an operator of large-scale data center infrastructure. The group also expanded its relationships with Nike and Marks & Spencer.
Automation and integration under way
GXO plans to deploy 20,000 robots across its logistics network in 2026 and currently counts 45 pilots including humanoid robots. The group, however, has no humanoid robots scheduled for production this year. Kelleher judged this timeline as « probablement à deux ans », while assuring that « les robots humanoïdes figureront absolument dans nos solutions ». An additional test including humanoids is set to launch in Europe soon.
On the software side, the IA GXO IQ operating system remains on track to be deployed across 50 sites in 2026, with acceleration expected throughout 2027. Kelleher explained that the group is grouping its proprietary AI agents into repeatable product waves, starting with forecasting, replenishment and pick optimization, rolled out across connected sites rather than rebuilt one by one. He added that these gains will contribute significantly to improving operational productivity, particularly in inbound and outbound picking as well as workforce planning. The PDG acknowledged, however, that the group has not yet achieved a return on investment from this technology.
On the integration front, the absorption of Wincanton is approximately 90% complete, and GXO remains on track to reach $60 million in annual savings by the end of 2026 through combined operations.
Management of the group, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, said that details of the margin expansion plan will be presented at its investor day, scheduled for November 16.
