FedEx (FDX) Earnings Warning: Recession Harbinger or Single-Stock Hiccup? Investors have plenty of worries – chief among them inflation and a potential recession . But the engine that ultimately drives the stock market is corporate profits. As long as earnings growth stays on track, then corporate America—and by extension, your stock portfolio—remains on solid ground. Which is why the recent earnings preview from FedEx ( FDX ) was so unnerving. While the official report for the quarter ended August 31 comes out Thursday, FedEx warned on September 15 that it would have bad news, with quarterly results severely impacted deteriorating economic trends in Asia, Europe and the U.S. FedEx stock was immediately penalized, and is down more than 20% since this pre-announcement. The key question for every investor is whether the shipping giant is suffering from a company-specific malaise or whether FedEx’s problems are a broad-market bellwether portending widespread doom. “FedEx is no ordinary economic actor, as its business literally touches every corner of the global economy” says Sheraz Mian, director of research for Zacks, an investment research firm.