A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S

Maersk reported Q2 revenue of $15.8 billion, up 20% year over year. EBITDA was $3 billion and EBIT was $1.6 billion; free cash flow was positive at $549 million versus negative $373 million a year ago. In Ocean, revenue rose 23% to $10.5 billion, loaded volumes increased 4.1% to 3.4 million FFE, average loaded freight rates increased 22% year over year and 32% sequentially, EBITDA was $2 billion, and EBIT was $935 million. Logistics & Services revenue increased 15% to $4.2 billion, EBIT rose 24% to $217 million, and EBIT margin improved to 5.1%. Terminals revenue grew 11% to $1.4 billion, EBIT was $458 million, EBIT margin was 31.6%, and ROIC was 14.8%. Guidance for the full year was raised to underlying EBITDA of $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion, underlying EBIT of $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion, and positive free cash flow. CapEx guidance remained $10 billion to $11 billion for '25 to '26 and the same for '26 to '27.

Vincent Clerc framed the quarter as proof that Maersk is benefiting from both strong demand and operational agility. He emphasized that trade flows are increasingly imbalanced, that port and landside bottlenecks are becoming a structural feature, and that these constraints are pushing rate volatility higher. He also said Maersk sees the Red Sea return as gradual and safety-driven, not a sign of taking unnecessary risk.

Robert Erni highlighted that the quarter was stronger than both the prior year and the first quarter, driven mainly by Ocean. He cited $18.5 billion of cash and deposits, a net cash position of $1.5 billion, operating cash flow of $2.3 billion, and 75% cash conversion; the weaker cash conversion versus the prior quarter came from higher receivables and higher bunker inventory. He also noted gross CapEx of $931 million for the quarter, with Ocean gross CapEx of $663 million and Terminals gross CapEx of $122 million, while reiterating full-year CapEx guidance was unchanged.

Analysts focused on the return to Suez/Red Sea, Ocean market share and capital allocation, the sustainability of the rate spike versus peers, and whether congestion and the order book imply more ships or higher throughput. Management said about 1/3 of normal canal services are already sailing, conditions are met for a gradual return, and the decision is reviewed daily with safety as the priority. On capital allocation, Clerc said Maersk likely needs to keep renewing the fleet and add some growth capital to protect position, while also stressing that landside bottlenecks, not ship count alone, are increasingly setting rate dynamics. He also said the high-rate environment should be volatile rather than permanently elevated, and that Red Sea normalization would have more cost impact than immediate price impact because bottlenecks are elsewhere.