United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS reported third-quarter 2017 earnings of $1.45, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 per share. Earnings increased 0.7% on a year-over-year basis. Results, however, were hurt by the recent hurricanes.Revenues improved 7% to $15,978 million from the year-ago quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15,605.5 million. The upside was driven by growth across all the key segments of the company.Segmental DetailsU.S. Domestic Package revenues climbed 3.9% year over year to $9,649 million in the reported quarter, driven by e-commerce growth. Segmental operating profit decreased 5.6% to $1,182 million.Segmental average daily package volumes increased 3.4%, driven by a 3.4% rise in Ground products and 8% growth in Next Day Air services. Deferred Air products were down 1.6%. Average revenue per piece for the segment was up 2%. International Package revenues improved 11.2% to $3,364 million. Daily export volumes rose 19% in the quarter on the back of growth in all regions. Segmental operating profit increased 8.9% to $627 million.Supply Chain and Freight revenues increased 13.4% to $2,965 million. Segmental results were aided by better market conditions among other factors. Operating profits in the segment climbed 9.7% to $226 million in the reported quarter.United Parcel Service, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise United Parcel Service, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | United Parcel Service, Inc. Quote Other DetailsUPS has spent $3.7 billion as capital expenditure in the first nine months of the year. Moreover, the company paid approximately $2.1 as dividend to shareholders in the first nine months of 2017. It also bought back 12.3 million shares for more than $1.4 billion.In fact, the company’s efforts to reward shareholders consistently through buybacks and dividend payouts are impressive.OutlookUPS carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The company now expects 2017 adjusted earnings per share between $5.85 and $6.10 (old guidance: $5.80 to $6.10). The guidance includes $400 million of pre-tax currency headwinds. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 currently stands at $6 per share. The company intends to raise some rates by an average of 4.9% from Dec. 24.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Upcoming ReleasesInvestors interested in the broader Transportation sector are keenly waiting for third-quarter earnings reports from key players like GOL Linhas GOL, Copa Holdings, S.A. CPA and Expeditors International of Washington EXPD. While GOL Linhas and Copa Holdings will report third-quarter results on Nov 8, Expeditors will report the same on Nov 7.Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.See the pot trades we're targeting>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL): Free Stock Analysis Report Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA): Free Stock Analysis Report Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD): Free Stock Analysis Report United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research