Maersk (MAERSK) Q2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q2 revenue rose 20% YoY to $15.8B; EBITDA increased 30% to $3.0B and EBIT rose 86% to $1.6B, led by Ocean’s higher rates and volumes.

• Free cash flow turned positive at $549M versus -$373M a year earlier; strong performance across all three segments supported upgraded FY2026 guidance.

• Resilient demand and constrained landside infrastructure drove congestion and freight-rate volatility, which management expects to recur.

Financial highlights

• Revenue was $15.8B, EBITDA $3.0B, and EBIT $1.6B; net profit reached $1.3B versus $639M a year earlier.

• EBITDA margin improved to 19.0% from 17.5%; EBIT margin rose to 10.0% from 6.4%.

• Free cash flow was $549M versus -$373M; operating cash flow was $2.3B, with 75% cash conversion.

• Gross CapEx was $931M; higher receivables and bunker inventory increased working capital.

• $367M was returned to shareholders during the quarter, primarily through share buybacks.

Outlook and guidance

• FY2026 underlying EBITDA guidance was raised to $10.5B-$12.5B and underlying EBIT to $4.5B-$6.5B; container-market volume growth is expected at ~4%.

• FY2026 free cash flow guidance is greater than -$1.5B.

• Cumulative CapEx guidance remains $10B-$11B for both 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.

• Lower-end guidance assumes congestion eases around the start of Q4; stronger demand and persistent congestion would support the upper end. A gradual Red Sea/Suez return could lower sailing costs but temporarily intensify destination congestion.