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GXO Logistics reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings Tuesday, driven by growth in aerospace, defense and technology logistics contracts, while executives pushed back against concerns that Amazon’s newly expanded supply chain services could threaten the company’s business model.
The contract logistics provider reported first-quarter revenue of $3.3 billion, up 10.8% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA increased 23% to $200 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 72% to 50 cents.
GXO also raised its full-year guidance for adjusted EBITDA to a range of $935 million to $975 million and boosted adjusted diluted EPS guidance to between $2.90 and $3.20.
CEO Patrick Kelleher said GXO’s pipeline reached a record $2.7 billion during the quarter as the company expanded deeper into higher-margin verticals such as aerospace and defense, industrials, life sciences and data center infrastructure.
“2026 is off to a strong start,” Kelleher said in the earnings call on Wednesday. “In the first quarter, we delivered strong revenue growth and profitability, underscoring the strength and predictability of our business model.”
Greenwich, Connecticut-based GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO) is one of the largest pure-play contract logistics providers in the world. It has more than 970 facilities totaling approximately 200 million square feet, with a global workforce of more than 130,000 people.
GXO generated $227 million in new business wins during the quarter, with approximately 40% tied to strategic growth sectors including aerospace and defense, technology, industrial and life sciences.
Executives repeatedly emphasized GXO’s expanding role in AI infrastructure and data center logistics during the earnings call.
“In the first quarter, we added $227 million in new business wins across key verticals, including notable contracts in aerospace and defense, several technology wins, including further growth in AI cloud infrastructure with hyperscalers,” Kelleher said during the call.
Kelleher said the company’s sales pipeline is now at the highest level in GXO’s history, with more than $500 million tied to strategic growth verticals.
“Our total pipeline now stands at the highest level in GXO’s history,” Kelleher said. “And in the quarter, 40% of wins were in our strategic growth verticals, aerospace and defense, industrial, life sciences, and technology, particularly data centers.”
A major focus during the earnings call centered on Amazon’s recent expansion into broader third-party supply chain and warehousing services, which analysts questioned as a potential competitive threat to traditional contract logistics providers.
Kelleher dismissed those concerns, saying Amazon’s move validates the long-term outsourcing opportunity in logistics rather than undermining GXO’s business.
“I’ve been in this industry for 32 years, and I really viewed Amazon’s announcement this week as a fantastic validation of the opportunity that’s in front of GXO and of the contract logistics industry,” Kelleher said.
Kelleher noted that roughly 70% of the global contract logistics market remains insourced, representing a major long-term growth opportunity for third-party providers.
“Amazon is selling access to its supply chain, whereas GXO, we build custom solutions for our customers, and that distinction means everything to our blue-chip customers,” Kelleher said. “We’re not a one-size-fits-all provider. What we do is bespoke, operationally complex, and relationship-driven.”
Kelleher also said that many enterprise customers would be reluctant to provide Amazon with deeper visibility into their supply chain operations and data.
“For enterprise customers, protecting their data is a top priority,” Kelleher said. “Many companies are going to be reluctant to give a competitor deeper visibility into their inventory, demand patterns, sales channels, financials.”
Executives acknowledged GXO does compete directly with Amazon in shared-use e-commerce fulfillment through GXO Direct, which Kelleher said represents less than 6% of total company revenue.
“The area of the business where I do see us competing with Amazon going forward, and we have been in the past for a while, is with Amazon’s FBA product, which is very similar to our GXO direct product offering,” Kelleher said.
Still, Kelleher said GXO differentiates itself through high-touch logistics services tailored to premium brands.
“I think where we do competitively differentiate as GXO direct is that we are servicing high-value brands that leverage our value-added services in packaging, etching, and really white-glove type services for those very high-end brands,” he said.
Beyond e-commerce, GXO executives said the company continues to benefit from accelerating demand tied to industrial reshoring, defense supply chains and AI infrastructure expansion.
The company launched a Defense Advisory Board in the U.S. during the quarter and established the Taurus Defense Supply Chain Alliance in the U.K. following its acquisition of Wincanton.
GXO also continued scaling its GXO IQ warehouse platform, an AI-powered system designed to improve warehouse startup efficiency, automation deployment and productivity. The company said it expects GXO IQ to be deployed at more than 50 sites by year-end.
“Our first mover advantage is real and we are building on it,” Kelleher said regarding the company’s automation and robotics strategy.
Executives said GXO expects organic revenue growth to accelerate during the second half of 2026 as newly signed contracts ramp into production and implementation phases.
GXO ended the quarter with $794 million in cash and $1.6 billion in total liquidity while maintaining leverage at 2.5 times adjusted EBITDA.
GXOLogisticsQ1 2026YoY ChangeTotal RevenueAdjusted EBITDANet IncomeAdjusted EPS
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