Who owns UPS?

UPS is American multinational shipping and receiving and supply chain management company. UPS today is primarily known for its ground shipping services as well as the UPS store, a retail chain that assists UPS shipments and provides tools for small businesses.

UPS was founded in 1907 by James Casey under the name American Messenger Company. Most deliveries at this time were made on foot or by bicycle. The American Messenger Company focused primarily on package deliveries to retail stores with special delivery mail for its largest client in the U.S. Post Office.

In 1913, the company acquired a Model T Ford as its first delivery vehicle. American Messenger Company merged with Evert McCabe to form Merchants Parcel Delivery. Consolidated delivery was also introduced, meaning packages that were addressed to a certain neighborhood were combined into one delivery vehicle.

In 1919, the company expanded beyond Seattle, Washington, to Oakland, California, and changed its name to United Parcel Service (UPS). UPS became one of the only companies in the United States to offer common carrier service, and they started using private airlines for deliveries starting in 1929.

Today, UPS is the largest courier company in the world by revenue, with annual revenues of around $85 billion in 2020. This put them ahead of competitors, including DHL and FedEx. UPS' main international hub in Louisville, Kentucky, is the fifth busiest airport in the world for cargo traffic and the third busiest in the United States.

Aside from institutional investors, there are also many individual investors who own shares in UPS. Because these shares are publicly traded, anyone who purchases them has an ownership stake in the company. However, these stakes are typically much smaller than the institutional investors.

It's also important to note that UPS employees also have a significant ownership stake in the company through their employee stock purchase program. This allows employees to buy stock at a discounted price and thus have a direct investment in the company's success.

Finally, some shares are held as treasury stock by UPS itself. Treasury stock is essentially a company's own stock that it has repurchased from investors. These shares don't have voting rights and they don't pay dividends, but companies can choose to reissue them or use them for employee incentive programs.