Stamps.com Becomes An Unlikely Winner (STMP, UPS, FDX)

Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ: STMP) is not just up in the double-digit percentage gains today.  The company hit a 52-week high.  Actually, this is a high going back to 2006.  The company is an obvious winner of the Post Office woes coming to America.

The reason that Stamps.com is winning is because the closure of more and more locations should drive more and more users and clients its way.  By enabling people to print electronic stamps directly onto envelopes or labels using their PC and printer, the company will get a cut as fewer and fewer people using mail will drive a distance to get stamps.  Its PhotoStamps also allows consumers to turn digital photos or images into valid U.S. postage with many of the same insurance offerings and packing options that the Postal Service offers in its locations.

Fewer locations of the POst Office and fewer processing facilities also will be a win for both United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX).  Just don’t look at their stocks to try to figure how much they might win from it because those stocks are down since the Post Office woes came to light again last week.

Stamps.com claims to offer far cheaper alternatives than traditional postal meters without long-term contracts. For a rough savings guess I went to Stamps.com calculating tool to check on annual savings and used the following scenario: 10 pieces of mail per day on average with only a $0.48 average piece of mail without any percentages in mail confirmation or with insurance.  The cost calculated was $436 per year.  If 25% required delivery confirmation and also with package insurance, then their projected savings comes to $820 per year.

What is more impressive than the 10.6% gain to $24.75 and the new 52-week high of $25.24 earlier today is that the stock was trading under $21.00 just four days ago.

JON C. OGG