General	3 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2017
General [Abstract]
General	(1) General SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES. These interim financial statements of FedEx Corporation (“FedEx”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) instructions for interim financial information, and should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2017 (“Annual Report”). Accordingly, significant accounting policies and other disclosures normally provided have been omitted since such items are disclosed in our Annual Report. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly our financial position as of August 31, 2017, the results of our operations and cash flows for the three-month periods ended August 31, 2017 and 2016. Operating results for the three-month period ended August 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending May 31, 2018. Except as otherwise specified, references to years indicate our fiscal year ending May 31, 2018 or ended May 31 of the year referenced and comparisons are to the corresponding period of the prior year. EMPLOYEES UNDER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ARRANGEMENTS. The pilots of Federal Express Corporation (“FedEx Express”), who represent a small number of its total employees, are employed under a collective bargaining agreement that took effect on November 2, 2015. This collective bargaining agreement is scheduled to become amendable in November 2021, after a six-year term. In addition to our pilots at FedEx Express, FedEx Supply Chain Distribution System, Inc. (“FedEx Supply Chain”) has a small number of employees who are members of unions, and certain non-U.S. employees are unionized. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION. We have two types of equity-based compensation: stock options and restricted stock. The key terms of the stock option and restricted stock awards granted under our incentive stock plans and all financial disclosures about these programs are set forth in our Annual Report. Our stock-based compensation expense was $62 million for the three-month period ended August 31, 2017 and $57 million for the three-month period ended August 31, 2016. Due to its immateriality, additional disclosures related to stock-based compensation have been excluded from this quarterly report. RECENT ACCOUNTING GUIDANCE. New accounting rules and disclosure requirements can significantly impact our reported results and the comparability of our financial statements. We believe the following new accounting guidance is relevant to the readers of our financial statements. During the first quarter of 2018, we early adopted the Accounting Standard Update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) related to Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory. This update requires companies to recognize the income tax consequences of intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory when the transfer occurs, as opposed to when the assets are ultimately sold to an outside party. This new guidance had a minimal impact on our accounting and financial reporting for the first quarter of 2018. On May 28, 2014, the FASB and International Accounting Standards Board issued a new accounting standard that will supersede virtually all existing revenue recognition guidance under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. This standard will be effective for us beginning in fiscal 2019. The fundamental principles of the new guidance are that companies should recognize revenue in a manner that reflects the timing of the transfer of services to customers and the amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration that a company expects to receive for the goods and services provided. The new guidance establishes a five-step approach for the recognition of revenue. We are continuing to assess the impact of this new standard on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, including ongoing contract reviews. We do not anticipate that the new guidance will have a material impact on our revenue recognition policies, practices or systems. On February 25, 2016, the FASB issued a new lease accounting standard which requires lessees to put most leases on their balance sheets but recognize the expenses on their income statements in a manner similar to current practice. The new standard states that a lessee will recognize a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-of-use asset for the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. Expenses related to leases determined to be operating leases will be recognized on a straight-line basis, while those determined to be financing leases will be recognized following a front-loaded expense profile in which interest and amortization are presented separately in the income statement. Based on our lease portfolio, we currently anticipate recognizing a lease liability and related right-of-use asset on the balance sheet in excess of $13 billion with an immaterial impact on our income statement compared to the current lease accounting model. However, the ultimate impact of the standard will depend on the company’s lease portfolio as of the adoption date. We are currently in the process of evaluating our existing lease portfolios, including accumulating all of the necessary information required to properly account for the leases under the new standard. Additionally, we are implementing an enterprise-wide lease management system to assist in the accounting and are evaluating additional changes to our processes and internal controls to ensure we meet the standard’s reporting and disclosure requirements. These changes will be effective for our fiscal year beginning June 1, 2019 (fiscal 2020), with a modified retrospective adoption method to the beginning of 2018. In March 2017, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update that changes how employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement benefit plans present the net periodic benefit cost in the income statement. This new guidance requires entities to report the service cost component in the same line item or items as other compensation costs. The other components of net benefit cost are required to be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component outside of income from operations. This standard will impact our operating income but will have no impact on our net income or earnings per share. For example, adoption of this guidance would have reduced operating income in the first quarter of 2018 by $146 million and by $112 million in the first quarter of 2017, but would not have impacted our net income in either period. This new guidance will be effective for our fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018 (fiscal 2019) and will be applied retrospectively. TREASURY SHARES. In January 2016, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to 25 million shares. Shares under the current repurchase program may be repurchased from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The timing and volume of repurchases are at the discretion of management, based on the capital needs of the business, the market price of FedEx common stock and general market conditions. No time limit was set for the completion of the program, and the program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. During the first quarter of 2018, we repurchased 0.4 million shares of FedEx common stock at an average price of $207.92 per share for a total of $86 million. As of August 31, 2017, 15.6 million shares remained under the share repurchase authorization. DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE. On August 18, 2017, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share of common stock. The dividend will be paid on October 2, 2017 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 11, 2017. Each quarterly dividend payment is subject to review and approval by our Board of Directors, and we evaluate our dividend payment amount on an annual basis at the end of each fiscal year.

(1) General

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES. These interim financial statements of FedEx Corporation (“FedEx”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) instructions for interim financial information, and should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2017 (“Annual Report”). Accordingly, significant accounting policies and other disclosures normally provided have been omitted since such items are disclosed in our Annual Report.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly our financial position as of August 31, 2017, the results of our operations and cash flows for the three-month periods ended August 31, 2017 and 2016. Operating results for the three-month period ended August 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending May 31, 2018.

Except as otherwise specified, references to years indicate our fiscal year ending May 31, 2018 or ended May 31 of the year referenced and comparisons are to the corresponding period of the prior year.

EMPLOYEES UNDER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ARRANGEMENTS. The pilots of Federal Express Corporation (“FedEx Express”), who represent a small number of its total employees, are employed under a collective bargaining agreement that took effect on November 2, 2015. This collective bargaining agreement is scheduled to become amendable in November 2021, after a six-year term. In addition to our pilots at FedEx Express, FedEx Supply Chain Distribution System, Inc. (“FedEx Supply Chain”) has a small number of employees who are members of unions, and certain non-U.S. employees are unionized.

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION. We have two types of equity-based compensation: stock options and restricted stock. The key terms of the stock option and restricted stock awards granted under our incentive stock plans and all financial disclosures about these programs are set forth in our Annual Report.

Our stock-based compensation expense was $62 million for the three-month period ended August 31, 2017 and $57 million for the three-month period ended August 31, 2016. Due to its immateriality, additional disclosures related to stock-based compensation have been excluded from this quarterly report.

RECENT ACCOUNTING GUIDANCE. New accounting rules and disclosure requirements can significantly impact our reported results and the comparability of our financial statements. We believe the following new accounting guidance is relevant to the readers of our financial statements.

During the first quarter of 2018, we early adopted the Accounting Standard Update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) related to Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory. This update requires companies to recognize the income tax consequences of intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory when the transfer occurs, as opposed to when the assets are ultimately sold to an outside party. This new guidance had a minimal impact on our accounting and financial reporting for the first quarter of 2018.

On May 28, 2014, the FASB and International Accounting Standards Board issued a new accounting standard that will supersede virtually all existing revenue recognition guidance under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. This standard will be effective for us beginning in fiscal 2019. The fundamental principles of the new guidance are that companies should recognize revenue in a manner that reflects the timing of the transfer of services to customers and the amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration that a company expects to receive for the goods and services provided. The new guidance establishes a five-step approach for the recognition of revenue. We are continuing to assess the impact of this new standard on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, including ongoing contract reviews. We do not anticipate that the new guidance will have a material impact on our revenue recognition policies, practices or systems.

On February 25, 2016, the FASB issued a new lease accounting standard which requires lessees to put most leases on their balance sheets but recognize the expenses on their income statements in a manner similar to current practice. The new standard states that a lessee will recognize a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-of-use asset for the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. Expenses related to leases determined to be operating leases will be recognized on a straight-line basis, while those determined to be financing leases will be recognized following a front-loaded expense profile in which interest and amortization are presented separately in the income statement. Based on our lease portfolio, we currently anticipate recognizing a lease liability and related right-of-use asset on the balance sheet in excess of $13 billion with an immaterial impact on our income statement compared to the current lease accounting model. However, the ultimate impact of the standard will depend on the company’s lease portfolio as of the adoption date. We are currently in the process of evaluating our existing lease portfolios, including accumulating all of the necessary information required to properly account for the leases under the new standard. Additionally, we are implementing an enterprise-wide lease management system to assist in the accounting and are evaluating additional changes to our processes and internal controls to ensure we meet the standard’s reporting and disclosure requirements. These changes will be effective for our fiscal year beginning June 1, 2019 (fiscal 2020), with a modified retrospective adoption method to the beginning of 2018.

In March 2017, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update that changes how employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement benefit plans present the net periodic benefit cost in the income statement. This new guidance requires entities to report the service cost component in the same line item or items as other compensation costs. The other components of net benefit cost are required to be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component outside of income from operations. This standard will impact our operating income but will have no impact on our net income or earnings per share. For example, adoption of this guidance would have reduced operating income in the first quarter of 2018 by $146 million and by $112 million in the first quarter of 2017, but would not have impacted our net income in either period. This new guidance will be effective for our fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018 (fiscal 2019) and will be applied retrospectively.

TREASURY SHARES. In January 2016, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to 25 million shares. Shares under the current repurchase program may be repurchased from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The timing and volume of repurchases are at the discretion of management, based on the capital needs of the business, the market price of FedEx common stock and general market conditions. No time limit was set for the completion of the program, and the program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

During the first quarter of 2018, we repurchased 0.4 million shares of FedEx common stock at an average price of $207.92 per share for a total of $86 million. As of August 31, 2017, 15.6 million shares remained under the share repurchase authorization.

DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE. On August 18, 2017, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share of common stock. The dividend will be paid on October 2, 2017 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 11, 2017. Each quarterly dividend payment is subject to review and approval by our Board of Directors, and we evaluate our dividend payment amount on an annual basis at the end of each fiscal year.