FedEx Corporation, formerlyFederal Express Corporationand laterFDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee.
The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of the name of the company's original air division, Federal Express, which was used from 1973 until 2000. FedEx today is best known for its air delivery service, FedEx Express, which was one of the first major shipping companies to offer overnight delivery as a flagship service. Since then, FedEx also started FedEx Ground, FedEx Office (originally known as Kinko's), FedEx Supply Chain, FedEx Freight, and various other services across multiple subsidiaries, often meant to respond to its main competitor, UPS. The company is the fifth largest American-headquartered employer globally with 547,000 employees, and FedEx is also one of the top contractors of the US government and assists in the transport of some United States Postal Service packages through their Air Cargo Network contract.
FedEx's prominence in both the United States and the world has made it a common topic in popular culture, with examples including the film Cast Away as well as some of its marketing slogans (most famously "when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight"). In addition, FedEx has purchased the naming rights to FedExField of the NFL's Washington Commanders and FedExForum of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. FedEx's air shipping services have made its "Superhub" at Memphis International Airport the busiest cargo airport in the world by 2020.
