Battle · 5 companies

Parcel carriers

Billions of parcels, thin margins. Who makes money delivering them?

Amazon UK leads on turnover, pre-tax profit and net assets; DPD on profit margin; Yodel on growth. Amazon UK is the biggest by turnover at £8,263m, against £8,198m at Royal Mail. DPD keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £13.50 as pre-tax profit.

The year ends are up to 10 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. Yodel files group accounts that include subsidiaries; Royal Mail, Evri, DPD and Amazon UK file for a single company, which flatters the group on size.

Spark Intel Research Desk·Last updated ·Source: Companies House filed accounts

Accounts compared: Royal Mail to Mar 2025 · Evri to Mar 2025 · DPD to Jan 2026 · Yodel to Dec 2025 · Amazon UK to Dec 2025

Biggest by turnover

Amazon UK

£8,263m

Highest profit margin

DPD

13.5%

Fastest-growing turnover

Yodel

+14.5%

The Numbers

#CompanyTurnoverChangePre-tax profitMarginEmployeesPay per headTurnover per headNet assetsBank and cashAccounts toBasis
1 Amazon UKAmazon UK Services Ltd. £8,263m +11.1% £355m 4.3% 66,323 £58,000 £125,000 £3,679m £4m Dec 2025 Single company
2 Royal MailRoyal Mail Group Limited £8,198m +4.8% £273m 3.3% 126,811 £43,000 £65,000 £2,402m £341m Mar 2025 Single company
3 EvriEvri Limited £1,853m +9.9% £176m 9.5% 8,540 £34,000 £217,000 £293m £41m Mar 2025 Single company
4 DPDDpdgroup UK Ltd £1,484m +0.1% £200m 13.5% 8,572 £54,000 £173,000 £214m £60m Jan 2026 Single company
5 YodelInpost Delivery Network Limited £557m +14.5% -£20m -3.5% 2,671 £45,000 £209,000 -£272m £9m Dec 2025 Group

Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.). Amazon UK Services does not sell to shoppers: its turnover is what other Amazon companies pay it for running the UK warehouses, delivery network and support services, set as a margin on its own costs (strategic report, accounts to 31 December 2025). Amazon's UK retail sales are recorded by other Amazon companies.

Category winners

Biggest by turnover

Amazon UK

£8,263m

Most pre-tax profit

Amazon UK

£355m

Highest profit margin

DPD

13.5%

Fastest-growing turnover

Yodel

+14.5%

Biggest employer

Royal Mail

126,811 staff

Highest pay per head

Amazon UK

£58,000

Most turnover per head

Evri

£217,000

Largest net assets

Amazon UK

£3,679m

Most cash

Royal Mail

£341m

The Takeaway

  1. DPD converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £13.50 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £3.51 at Yodel.
  2. Amazon UK is the largest on the top line, £8,263m of turnover, 1.0x Royal Mail's £8,198m.
  3. Yodel is growing fastest, turnover +14.5% on its own prior year.
  4. Royal Mail is the biggest employer with 126,811 people; Amazon UK pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £58,000.
  5. Amazon UK has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £3,679m, while Royal Mail holds the most cash at £341m.

Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?

DPD keeps the most: £13.50 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Yodel does worst, losing £3.51.

Financing bites hardest at Yodel: £5.07 of every £100 goes on interest.

Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.

The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.

Out of every £100 of turnover

£100£0 Payroll: £31.14 of every £100Payroll£31.14Financing: £2.99 of every £100Other costs: £52.37 of every £100Other costs£52.37Profit: £13.50 of every £100Profit £13.50DPDYear to Jan 2026£1,484mPayroll: £15.79 of every £100Payroll£15.79Financing: £2.33 of every £100Other costs: £72.37 of every £100Other costs£72.37Profit: £9.51 of every £100Profit £9.51EvriYear to Mar 2025£1,853mPayroll: £46.48 of every £100Payroll£46.48Financing: £0.41 of every £100Other costs: £48.81 of every £100Other costs£48.81Profit: £4.30 of every £100Profit £4.30Amazon UKYear to Dec 2025£8,263mPayroll: £66.08 of every £100Payroll£66.08Financing: £0.93 of every £100Other costs: £29.67 of every £100Other costs£29.67Profit: £3.33 of every £100Profit £3.33Royal MailYear to Mar 2025£8,198mPayroll: £21.68 of every £100Payroll£21.68Financing: £5.07 of every £100£5.07Other costs: £76.76 of every £100Other costs£76.76Loss (the costs beyond £100): £3.51 of every £100Loss £3.51YodelYear to Dec 2025£557m
Payroll (staff costs)Financing (interest paid)Other running costsPre-tax profitLoss: the costs beyond £100

Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.

Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?

By turnover the order is Amazon UK (£8,263m), Royal Mail (£8,198m), Evri (£1,853m), DPD (£1,484m), Yodel (£557m).

By headcount, Royal Mail leads with 126,811 employees.

The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Royal Mail to Mar 2025, Evri to Mar 2025, DPD to Jan 2026, Yodel to Dec 2025, Amazon UK to Dec 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.

Amazon UK£8,263mRoyal Mail£8,198mEvri£1,853mDPD£1,484mYodel£557m

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

Yodel grew fastest, turnover +14.5% on its own prior year, ahead of Amazon UK (+11.1%), Evri (+9.9%), Royal Mail (+4.8%), DPD (+0.1%).

Yodel+14.5%Amazon UK+11.1%Evri+9.9%Royal Mail+4.8%DPD+0.1%

Turnover change on each company's own prior year

Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?

Royal Mail employs the most, 126,811 people, against 66,323 at Amazon UK.

Amazon UK has the highest average staff cost, about £58,000 a head; Evri the lowest, about £34,000.

Evri brings in the most turnover per employee, about £217,000, against £65,000 at Royal Mail. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.

Royal Mail

126,811

employees, about £43,000 pay a head, £65,000 turnover a head, +2.7% on the year

Evri

8,540

employees, about £34,000 pay a head, £217,000 turnover a head, +3.4% on the year

DPD

8,572

employees, about £54,000 pay a head, £173,000 turnover a head, -5.3% on the year

Yodel

2,671

employees, about £45,000 pay a head, £209,000 turnover a head, -14.5% on the year

Amazon UK

66,323

employees, about £58,000 pay a head, £125,000 turnover a head, +2.5% on the year

Who owns each one?

Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.

Royal Mail Group Limited · 04138203

Held by Ids Holdco Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 3 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Royal Mail →

Evri Limited · 03900782

Held by Concert Newco Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns Evri →

Dpdgroup UK Ltd · 00732993

Held by Geopost Holdings Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns DPD →

Inpost Delivery Network Limited · 05200072

Held by Judge Logistics Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns Yodel →

Amazon UK Services Ltd. · 03223028

Held by Amazon.Com, Inc.

An individual recorded as a person with significant control. 7 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Amazon UK →

What does the full ledger show?

MeasureRoyal MailEvriDPDYodelAmazon UK
Registered nameROYAL MAIL GROUP LIMITEDEVRI LIMITEDDPDGROUP UK LTDINPOST DELIVERY NETWORK LIMITEDAMAZON UK SERVICES LTD.
Company number0413820303900782007329930520007203223028
Incorporated20011999196220041996
Accounts filed22 December 202525 November 20255 October 20267 October 20264 June 2026
Turnover, prior year£7,819m£1,686m£1,483m£487m£7,434m
Pre-tax profit, prior year-£93m£119m£198m-£105m£281m
Staff costs£5,417m£293m£462m£121m£3,841m
Payroll share of turnover66.1%15.8%31.1%21.7%46.5%
Employees, prior year123,4748,2599,0523,12364,733
Dividends paidn/d£108m£160mn/dn/d
Charges outstanding31117

A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.

Parcel carriers: common questions

Who is the biggest of Royal Mail, Evri, DPD, Yodel or Amazon UK?

Amazon UK, with turnover of £8,263m in the year to December 2025.

Which makes the most profit?

Amazon UK: £355m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.

Which employs the most people?

Royal Mail, with 126,811 employees in its latest accounts.

Royal Mail or Evri: which is bigger?

Royal Mail, with turnover of £8,198m against £1,853m at Evri on their latest filings. On margin, Evri keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →

Royal Mail or DPD: which is bigger?

Royal Mail, with turnover of £8,198m against £1,484m at DPD on their latest filings. On margin, DPD keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Mail or Yodel: which is bigger?

Royal Mail, with turnover of £8,198m against £557m at Yodel on their latest filings. On margin, Royal Mail keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Royal Mail or Amazon UK: which is bigger?

Amazon UK, with turnover of £8,263m against £8,198m at Royal Mail on their latest filings. On margin, Amazon UK keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Evri or DPD: which is bigger?

Evri, with turnover of £1,853m against £1,484m at DPD on their latest filings. On margin, DPD keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →

Evri or Yodel: which is bigger?

Evri, with turnover of £1,853m against £557m at Yodel on their latest filings. On margin, Evri keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Evri or Amazon UK: which is bigger?

Amazon UK, with turnover of £8,263m against £1,853m at Evri on their latest filings. On margin, Evri keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

DPD or Yodel: which is bigger?

DPD, with turnover of £1,484m against £557m at Yodel on their latest filings. On margin, DPD keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

DPD or Amazon UK: which is bigger?

Amazon UK, with turnover of £8,263m against £1,484m at DPD on their latest filings. On margin, DPD keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Yodel or Amazon UK: which is bigger?

Amazon UK, with turnover of £8,263m against £557m at Yodel on their latest filings. On margin, Amazon UK keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Where do these figures come from?

Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.

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