(Melissah Yang/Neon Tommy)

The company reported Wednesday net income earnings of $489 million for the fiscal quarter ending Aug. 31, up 7 percent from the previous year. 

The company also pointed to higher weight per shipment and an increase in yield and average daily shipments as factors for the company's success despite sluggish growth in the global economy, higher fuel costs and one less operating day than in the same quarter a year ago.

"FedEx Express remains focused on reducing costs while facing challenging global economic conditions," Frederick W. Smith, FedEx's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. "Meanwhile, FedEx Ground continues to generate strong profitability on growing customer demand for its services."

The company's earnings per share was $1.53, an improvement from last year's per-share profit of $1.45. FedEx's earnings report had an immediate effect on the company's stock price, which jumped 5 percent, to $116.25 a share from $110.68 the previous day.

FedEx beat expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who had projected a revenue of $10.97 billion and a per-share profit of $1.50. 

Alan B. Graf, FedEx’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said improved profitability and performance in its Ground and Express shipping sectors helped lift the company above expectations. 

The company has shifted its focus in recent months to accommodate demand for lower-priced shipping deals as more customers are opting for slower shipping to save money. 

FedEx Ground saw a gain of 11 percent in average daily volume and brought in a revenue of $2.73 billion.

FedEx Express, which moves more than 3.9 million shipments a day, saw its revenue dip to $6.6 billion. But the international segment's use of gas-efficient technology, including the company's new Boeing 767 300 freighter, which uses 30 percent less fuel, helped reduce operating costs by at least 20 percent. The company reported an operating income of $236 million for its Express shipping, an increase of 14 percent from last year.

FedEx confirmed it would increase shipping rates on average by 3.9 percent for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services in January 2014.

But executives were confident the price changes wouldn't affect its shipment volume, backing its forecast of full-year earnings per share growth of 7 percent to 13 percent from last year's adjusted results.