IN Brief:
- New Supply Chain contracts worth €2.088bn were concluded during the third quarter.
- Divisional revenue rose 12% to €4.941bn, with EBIT increasing 8.1% to €301m.
- Revenue growth reached 13.1% in the Americas, 11.7% in EMEA, and 9.9% in Asia-Pacific.
DHL Supply Chain secured contracts with a combined volume of €2.088bn during the third quarter of 2026, as demand for outsourced warehousing and logistics services supported revenue growth across its international operations. The DHL Group division increased quarterly revenue by 12% to €4.941bn, with retail and technology customers accounting for a substantial share of the newly concluded business.
The reported contract volume represents the value of additional business agreements concluded during the quarter, rather than the revenue recognised from services delivered between July and September. Contract logistics agreements can extend over several years, with income generated as providers carry out warehousing, fulfilment, inventory management, distribution, and related activities. The figures consequently describe different measures of the division’s commercial performance.
Operating profit, measured as earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), increased by 8.1% to €301m, compared with €278m a year earlier. The EBIT margin reached 6.1%, within DHL’s medium-term target range of 6%–7%. Profit increased more slowly than revenue, indicating that the additional turnover did not produce an equivalent proportional improvement in operating earnings.
Currency movements contributed approximately €85m to reported quarterly revenue. Excluding that positive effect, the division recorded growth of 10.1%. The distinction is relevant for an international logistics operator because changes in exchange rates can alter the euro value of revenue generated in other currencies without producing the same change in underlying operational activity.
The Americas recorded the strongest regional growth, with revenue increasing by 13.1% to €2.049bn from €1.811bn in the corresponding quarter of 2025. DHL identified activity in the technology and consumer sectors as important contributors. The division did not publish a detailed breakdown identifying the proportion attributable to individual industries or contracts.
Revenue in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa rose by 11.7% to €2.237bn, compared with €2.003bn a year earlier. Asia-Pacific generated €665m, up 9.9% from €605m. Growth across all three regions provides evidence of increased business activity within the division, although the reported results do not establish whether each market experienced comparable changes in warehouse throughput or customer volumes.
Contract logistics operations are often organised around dedicated customer facilities or shared distribution networks. The provider may manage incoming deliveries, storage locations, replenishment, picking, packing, dispatch, returns, and transport coordination. The precise responsibilities depend on the agreement, including which organisation supplies the property, automation systems, employees, and associated equipment.
Retail customers place particular demands on inventory allocation and fulfilment capacity. Distribution operations must process changes in product volumes, manage varying order profiles, and coordinate dispatch against agreed service schedules. During seasonal peaks, the balance between incoming inventory, storage capacity, order processing, and returns can change considerably over a relatively short period.
Technology supply chains introduce different handling and inventory requirements. Components and finished equipment may require accurate serial-number records, secure storage, protective packaging, or controlled handling. Logistics arrangements supporting computing and data centre infrastructure can also involve large equipment deliveries coordinated against construction and installation schedules.
DHL has identified technology and data centre-related logistics among the areas contributing to customer demand during 2026. However, the quarterly financial statement does not assign a separate value to those activities within the €2.088bn contract figure. It would therefore be inappropriate to attribute a specific proportion of the new business to artificial intelligence infrastructure or individual technology projects.
Large contract awards can also require an implementation period before the associated logistics operation reaches its intended capacity. New agreements may involve recruiting and training employees, preparing facilities, installing equipment, integrating information systems, and transferring stock or operating responsibilities from an existing provider. Revenue recognition follows the services delivered under the contract rather than necessarily beginning at the full contracted value.
The financial results do not identify the number of newly commissioned distribution centres or the number of warehouse automation installations associated with the quarterly contract wins. A contract value may encompass several facilities, service categories, or years of activity. The €2.088bn figure should therefore remain a commercial measure rather than being treated as a direct indicator of additional physical capacity.
Across the first nine months of 2026, DHL Supply Chain revenue increased by 9.2% to €14.164bn, compared with €12.975bn in the corresponding period of 2025. EBIT for the nine-month period declined slightly to €882m from €893m. The comparison demonstrates that the stronger third-quarter profit performance followed a period in which accumulated operating earnings had remained under pressure.
DHL Group as a whole recorded third-quarter revenue of €22.658bn, an increase of 12.6%, and EBIT of €1.716bn, up 16.2%. The group’s financial results also included higher freight volumes within its separate Global Forwarding division. Air freight exports increased by 12% to 497,000 tonnes, while ocean freight volumes rose by 4.8% to 895,000 TEU.
Those forwarding volumes should not be combined with Supply Chain’s contract figures. Air and ocean freight volumes measure physical transport activity, while new contract volume records the commercial value of agreements within a separate operating business. The different measures provide complementary information about DHL Group’s activities without describing the same underlying transactions.
DHL had raised its full-year group earnings guidance in October, forecasting EBIT above €7bn. The detailed third-quarter figures establish how the contract logistics division contributed to the wider business during the period. The value of its new contracts will be realised through the services provided over their respective terms, with revenue and profitability determined by implementation schedules, operating costs, and customer requirements.
