Maersk beats earnings expectations by a wide margin and raises guidance; shares jump 7%
A March 19, 2026, file image shows a Maersk container ship leaving the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong. Shipping continues to support global supply chains, and the port remains a key hub for regional and international trade. Global trade flows remain under pressure as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk raised its 2026 earnings outlook for the second time this year on Thursday. Its shares jumped 7% shortly after the announcement. Maersk is widely viewed as a barometer of global trade. The company reported preliminary earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $3 billion for April through June, well above the $2.04 billion consensus estimate compiled by LSEG analysts. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said Thursday on the European Finance Morning program: “This performance is extremely impressive in an environment of exceptionally high volatility.” He also cited disruptions stemming from the conflict in the Middle East and U.S. tariff policy. “The most important feature of the shipping market is that demand has shown remarkable resilience. Economic resilience has supported freight volumes, which have not declined at all,” Clerc said. He said the main bottleneck in global logistics is no longer at sea but in the supporting infrastructure on land, creating congestion and pushing freight rates higher. German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd also reported results, with cargo volumes and spot freight rates rising. Its shares gained 0.7%. Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said that, despite an additional $600 million in costs from the conflict in the Middle East, mainly for fuel and energy, the company’s second-quarter results reflected that “market conditions were far better than expected. The supply-demand balance was much more balanced than the market had previously anticipated.”
Global trade flows remain under pressure as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk raised its 2026 earnings outlook for the second time this year on Thursday. Its shares jumped 7% shortly after the announcement.
Maersk is widely viewed as a barometer of global trade. The company reported preliminary earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $3 billion for April through June, well above the $2.04 billion consensus estimate compiled by LSEG analysts.
Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said Thursday on the European Finance Morning program: “This performance is extremely impressive in an environment of exceptionally high volatility.” He also cited disruptions stemming from the conflict in the Middle East and U.S. tariff policy.
“The most important feature of the shipping market is that demand has shown remarkable resilience. Economic resilience has supported freight volumes, which have not declined at all,” Clerc said.
He said the main bottleneck in global logistics is no longer at sea but in the supporting infrastructure on land, creating congestion and pushing freight rates higher.
German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd also reported results, with cargo volumes and spot freight rates rising. Its shares gained 0.7%. Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said that, despite an additional $600 million in costs from the conflict in the Middle East, mainly for fuel and energy, the company’s second-quarter results reflected that “market conditions were far better than expected. The supply-demand balance was much more balanced than the market had previously anticipated.”