[6][7] The company was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1971 as Federal Express Corporation by Frederick W. Smith, a graduate of Yale University.

He drew up the company's concept in a term paper at Yale, in which he called for a system specifically designed for urgent deliveries.

In 1988, it acquired one of its major competitors, Flying Tiger Line, creating the largest full-service cargo airline in the world.

In 1994, Federal Express shortened its name to "FedEx" for marketing purposes, officially adopting a nickname that had been used for years.

FDX Corporation was founded to oversee all of the operations of those companies and its original air division, Federal Express.

[12][13] In March 2018, FedEx announced the acquisition of P2P Mailing Limited, a last-mile delivery service, for £92 million to expand their portfolio.

[14] In June 2019, FedEx announced they would not be renewing their $850 million contract with Amazon for the company's U.S. domestic express delivery business.

[17] On March 29, 2022, founder Frederick W. Smith announced he would be retiring as CEO and become executive chairman effective June 1, 2022.

[18][19] On December 19, 2024, FedEx announced that it would spin-off its freight truck division as a separate publicly-traded company as part of a major corporate restructuring, scheduled to be completed within 2025.

Both companies employ generally similar strategies; both companies' largest hubs for its air delivery are in the southern United States (Memphis for FedEx and Louisville for UPS), both offer overnight, 2-day, and ground delivery as default options, both frequently use Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for trans-pacific shipments,[32] and both of their main hubs are some of the world's busiest airports by cargo traffic.

[38]For the Cast Away film, FedEx provided access to their facilities (Memphis, Los Angeles, and Moscow) as well as airplanes, trucks, uniforms, and logistical support.

[53][54] It's investing $2 billion in sustainable energy initiatives, including $100M for a new Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture and upgrading its aircraft and ground transportation fleets.

[56] According to OpenSecrets, FedEx Corp is the 174th largest campaign contributor in the United States, having donated over $35.96 million to federal candidates and committees since 1990, 37% of which went to Democrats and 63% to Republicans.

[57] Strong ties to the White House and members of Congress allow access to international trade and tax cut rebates as well as the rules of the business practices of the United States Postal Service.

[58][59][60] During the 2018 calendar year, FedEx spent nearly $10.2 million lobbying the federal government,[61] its lowest total since 2008 but more than any other company in the air transport industry.

It was developed by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association in the 1960s to help the transportation industry for computerizing data and records.

FedEx denied that any irregularities in classification had occurred, but faced legal action from operatives claiming benefits that would have accrued had they been classified as employees.

FedEx claimed that signing the Federal Aviation Administration re-authorization bill, which would let some of its workers unionize more easily (and, according to the Memphis-based company, "could expose [its] customers at any time to local work stoppages that interrupted the flow of their time-sensitive, high-value shipments"),[64] was equivalent to giving UPS a "bailout".

According to the union, some members were subject to "extremely difficult conditions" at hospitals urged by government mandates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[67] On July 17, 2014, FedEx was indicted for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in cooperation with the Chhabra-Smoley Organization and Superior Drugs.

[68] According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "FedEx is alleged to have knowingly and intentionally conspired to distribute controlled substances and prescription drugs, including Phendimetrazine (Schedule III); Ambien, Phentermine, Diazepam, and Alprazolam (Schedule IV), to customers who had no legitimate medical need for them based on invalid prescriptions issued by doctors who were acting outside the usual course of professional practice.

"[69] A representative for the company contested these claims, stating that it would violate personal rights of customers to deny service and that "We are a transportation company—we are not law enforcement".

[70] On July 17, 2016 the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed in a statement that it had asked U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer to dismiss the indictment but also did not say why.

[87] A FedEx Ground facility was the site of a mass shooting in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021, causing nine deaths (including the perpetrator) and at least 6 injuries.