UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC
UPS
Industrials
2
exclusion reasons
2 themes
This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
In November 2024, the SEC imposed a $45 million penalty on United Parcel Service for deliberate GAAP violations related to the valuation of its UPS Freight division. Internal UPS analysis valued UPS Freight at approximately $650 million, but the company hired an outside consultant and selectively withheld data to fabricate a $2 billion valuation, avoiding a $500 million goodwill write-down. UPS continued this deception through 2020, even after signing a term sheet to sell the division for $800 million — a price that contradicted the inflated carrying value on its books.
ViolationTracker documents 42 federal and state wage and hour violations against United Parcel Service totaling $138.7 million. Separately, UPS paid $98 million to settle New York state tax evasion claims in 2019, $40 million to the DOJ for Controlled Substances Act violations in 2013 related to illegal pharmacy shipments, and $25 million under the False Claims Act in 2015. The pattern spans decades and multiple enforcement agencies — DOJ, state attorneys general, and the Department of Labor — indicating systemic compliance failures rather than isolated incidents.
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A digest of changes to our exclusion list — new additions, removals, and the evidence behind them. We review the list continuously as new evidence surfaces.
Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
This information is provided for educational and transparency purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Data is drawn from independent watchdogs, NGOs, government registries, and Ethical Capital's ongoing research — see Research Sources for the full list.
Ethical Capital LLC is a state-registered investment adviser in Utah (CRD #316032). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.