Summary: Against a backdrop of resilient trade flows and congestion-driven capacity constraints, Maersk’s strong commercial and operational execution drove revenue growth and significantly higher earnings, while helping customers navigate continued supply chain disruption.
05 Nov 2026
Executive Summary
- Full-year guidance raised to an underlying EBITDA of USD 14.0-14.5bn (previously USD 10.5-12.5bn) and an underlying EBIT of USD 8.0-8.5bn (previously USD 4.5-6.5bn)
- For the group, EBITDA was USD 4.7bn and EBIT was USD 3.3bn in the third quarter, up on both the prior year and second quarter
- Ocean generated significantly better earnings, driven by steady volumes and higher freight rates
- Logistics & Services grew revenue by 13% and improved EBIT margin to 5.8%
- Terminals achieved record-high revenue and maintained strong earnings
- Continued execution of the USD 1.0bn share buy-back programme
We delivered a strong quarter across our businesses. Despite continued geopolitical uncertainty and disruptions, global trade has remained remarkably resilient. Demand is being driven not only by consumer spending, but increasingly by major investments in electrification, energy and the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, generating significant flows of industrial cargo around the world. We have been well positioned to capture this demand, with our vessel fleet operating at full capacity and demand exceeding available space on certain routes. This reflects both the underlying strength of global trade and the tremendous job our colleagues are doing every day to deliver for our customers.
Q3 highlights
The global economy maintained resilient and broad-based growth in Q3, and global container demand grew between 2% and 4% year-on-year. Asian exports saw a deceleration in July and August amidst weather-related disruptions. On the import side, softer demand growth in Europe and the drag exerted by Middle Eastern imports were partially offset by solid growth in Africa, Latin America and North America. The quarter was marked by a severe typhoon season in Asia resulting in substantial port congestion that absorbed a sizeable amount of vessel capacity. At its peak, global average port waiting times reached 16.6 hours, the highest level since January 2023. As a result, average spot freight rates, as measured by the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index were up 46% in Q3 relative to the previous quarter.
Strong commercial and operational execution enabled Maersk to translate the market conditions into a 27% year-on-year increase in revenue to USD 18.1bn, driven by all three businesses. Group EBITDA rose from USD 2.7bn to USD 4.7bn, while EBIT increased from USD 1.3bn to USD 3.3bn, bringing the EBIT margin to 18.1%.
Ocean continued to leverage the favourable market pushing EBIT up to USD 2.6bn (USD 567m). Despite adverse weather conditions in Asia constraining capacity and loadings, loaded volumes remained high, with vessel utilisation remaining at 96%. The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and widespread network congestion increased bunker, network and container handling costs and affected schedule reliability.
Logistics & Services revenue grew by 13%, supported by strong volume development across most products, elevated rates, and landbridge solutions in the Middle-East. Landside was the largest contributor to growth, driven by landbridge solutions across the Gulf region. Forwarding also performed strongly, with solid volume growth in Air and Project Logistics, while Contract Logistics continued to deliver revenue growth within Solutions. Profitability improved year-on-year, with the EBIT margin increasing to 5.8% from 5.5% reflecting disciplined cost management and solid operational execution.
Terminals confirmed its strong position, delivering record-high revenue. Volumes increased by 2.6%, supported by growth in Africa and Europe of 14% and 6.7% respectively. Utilisation was 85% (90%). Adjusted for a concession extension-related impairment reversal recognised in 2025, the EBIT margin increased by 0.5 percentage points from 32.0% to 32.5%.
Investments
In late August, APM Terminals broke ground on the new Laldia greenfield terminal in Chattogram, Bangladesh. The landmark project will add 900,000 TEU of annual port capacity. In September, APM Terminals Suape commenced operations in Pernambuco, Brazil, with the arrival of the first commercial vessel. The new greenfield terminal increases the capacity of the Suape Port Complex by 55%, initially adding up to 400,000 TEU of annual handling capacity. As part of its fleet renewal programme, Maersk ordered 26 dual-fuel container vessels, each with a capacity of 18,600 TEU. The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2029 and 2030.
Financial guidance
Maersk has updated its full-year 2026 financial guidance on the back of the actual performance in the third quarter of 2026 and improved visibility for the remainder of the year. This is based on global container market volume growth for the full year 2026 of around 4%:
| Guidance 2026 | EBITDA Underlying (7 May: 4.5-7.0) (29 June: 8.0-10.0) (13 August: 10.5-12.5) |
EBIT Underlying (7 May: 1.5-1.0) (29 June: 2.0-4.0) (13 August: 4.5-6.5) |
Free cash flow greater than (7 May: -3.0 or higher) (29 June: -1.5 or higher) (13 August: > 0.0) |
CAPEX 2025-2026 (Unchanged) |
CAPEX 2026-2027 (Unchanged) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guidance 2026 USDbn |
EBITDA Underlying (7 May: 4.5-7.0) (29 June: 8.0-10.0) (13 August: 10.5-12.5) 14.0 -14.5 |
EBIT Underlying (7 May: 1.5-1.0) (29 June: 2.0-4.0) (13 August: 4.5-6.5) 8.0-8.5 |
Free cash flow greater than (7 May: -3.0 or higher) (29 June: -1.5 or higher) (13 August: > 0.0) 3.0 |
CAPEX 2025-2026 (Unchanged) 10.0-11.0 |
CAPEX 2026-2027 (Unchanged) 10.0-11.0 |
Sensitivity guidance
Maersk's financial performance for 2026 depends on several factors subject to uncertainties related to the given uncertain macroeconomic conditions, bunker fuel prices and freight rates. All else being equal, the sensitivities for 2026 for four key assumptions are listed below:
| Factors | Change | Effect on EBIT (full year 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Factors Container freight rate |
Change +/- 100 USD/FFE |
Effect on EBIT (full year 2026) +/- USD 0.3bn |
| Factors Container freight volume |
Change +/- 100,000 FFE |
Effect on EBIT (full year 2026) +/- USD 0.02bn |
| Factors Bunker price (net of expected FFF coverage) |
Change +/- 100 USD/FOE tonne |
Effect on EBIT (full year 2026) +/- USD 0.1bn |
| Factors Foreign exchange rate (net of hedges) |
Change +/- 10% change in USD |
Effect on EBIT (full year 2026) +/- USD 0.0bn |
Q3 2026 report available here.
About Maersk
A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) is an integrated logistics company connecting and simplifying its customers’ supply chains. As a global leader in logistics services, the company has 100,000+ customers, operates in almost 130 countries, and employs 100,000+ people. Maersk delivers innovative, reliable ocean network solutions, offers truly integrated logistics products and operates advanced container terminals, both gateways and hubs, with 60+ locations globally.
