FedEx recently came under fire in the Twittersphere and media for maintaining its relationship with the NRA while other organizations cut ties in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. FedEx offers a discount to NRA members and is presumably a member of the NRA, although the company has not disclosed its lobbying, trade association, and other memberships. While FedEx may see some value in its NRA relationship, we, as investors in FedEx, just see reputational risk. As public opinion on gun rights changes, we worry that this company is out of step and that it could cost shareholders.
We wrote to FedEx to express these views and to ask the company to distance itself from the NRA. We’ve filed proposals with the company in recent years asking them to increase disclosure around lobbying. While the proposals have received healthy support, the company has yet to come around. We’re not sure another letter from Clean Yield will change the company’s stance on the NRA, but we would be remiss if the company didn’t hear from shareholders on this one. It is simply too important.