BofA Ups DHL Price Objective, Forecasts Amid 'Strong' Peak Season Outlook at Express Business

07:25 AM EDT, 09/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- BofA Global Research raised its price objective and earnings forecasts for DHL (DHL.F), supported by "strong" peak season outlook at the German logistics group's Express division. "We attended the DHL Express [capital markets day] hosted by CEO John Pearson and Travis Cobb on 17 September. Key takeaways from the meeting: 1) 3Q volumes are similar to 9.4% in 2Q, and peak season outlook is strong with tight capacity; 2) focus on growing Heavy weight Express for high value B2B; 3) no need for ST capacity expansion and no capex backlog; 4) labour productivity has increased in hubs, country operations and customer service," analysts wrote in a Monday note. "DHL has announced a new demand surcharge (DSX) effective 1 October 2026 until 5 February 2027. Our analysis of the DSX by trade lane shows it is 18% higher y/y for the China/HK to Americas trade lane but c5% lower for China/HK to the Europe. The overall y/y DSX this year will depend on the geographic mix of volumes. Based on our assumptions of mix, we estimate a potential 10% increase." As such, the price objective was bumped up to 64 euros from 63 euros, while the stock's buy rating was reiterated. The research firm also increased its group EBIT estimates by 2% for both 2026 and 2027, while that for 2028 was lifted by 1%, as it took into account higher expected margins at DHL Express. With regard to EPS, forecasts for the group were raised by 2% for 2026, 3% for 2027 and 1% for 2028.