Maersk Guidance Upgrade and Market Outlook
AP Møller – Maersk A/S announced a significant upward revision to its 2026 full‑year guidance, citing robust container demand and a sustained rise in spot‑market freight rates. The Danish shipping group now expects underlying EBITDA of between $8 billion and $10 billion for 2026, sharply higher than the prior range of $4.5 billion to $7 billion. Correspondingly, underlying EBIT is projected at $2 billion to $4 billion, reversing the earlier outlook that ranged from a $1.5 billion loss to a $1 billion profit.
The free‑cash‑flow outlook was also improved; the company now anticipates an outflow of at least $1.5 billion for the year, compared with the earlier forecast of a minimum $3 billion outflow. Maersk expects global container market volumes to expand by roughly 4 percent in 2026, placing the growth at the higher end of its earlier estimate.
For the fiscal year 2025, Maersk reported underlying EBITDA of $9.57 billion, underlying EBIT of $3.36 billion, and free cash flow of $2.2 billion. The guidance upgrade follows a February warning when the company had projected earnings to slump and announced a cost‑saving programme that included cutting around 1,000 corporate jobs. Following the announcement, Maersk’s Class‑A shares rose 1.4 percent by 07:46 GMT.