Fred Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman and chief executive officer, said business investment directly leads to job growth. “Capital investment today is at about 8 percent up year over year, equipment and software is at about 19 percent, structures are still down 14 percent, but even with that progress, we’ve significantly below where we were in 2007,” Smith told CNBC.

“And investments create jobs: It’s the only thing that’s 100 percent related to job creation is private business investment.”

Last week, FedEx raised its fiscal full-year outlook on record holiday shipments, sending shares higher even as its second-quarter profit missed analyst estimates.

"We're now more bullish about the remainder of the year based on our record-setting peak volumes and greater anticipated customer demand for our services," Smith said last week. "We believe consumer and business sentiments are improving."

Higher compensation costs cut into FedEx’s profit in the second quarter, while international volume lagged the company's expectations and fuel surcharges did not keep pace with rising costs.