Date:2026-02-08
Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk released its earnings report today showing that its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the fourth quarter of 2025 were $118 million, a sharp decline from $2.05 billion in the same period in 2024. For the full year of 2025, Maersk's terminal business will achieve its best performance in history.
According to the announcement, Maersk's revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025 was $13.331 billion, down 8.65% year-on-year; EBITDA was $1.836 billion, down 48.96% year-on-year; EBIT was $118 million, down 94.24% year-on-year.
Looking at the full year of 2025, Maersk's annual revenue was $53.988 billion, down 2.69% year-on-year; EBITDA was $9.530 billion, down 21.42% year-on-year; EBIT was $3.5 billion, down 46.15% year-on-year. Maersk said the performance has reached the upper end of its guidance range.
With earnings expected to decline sharply this year, Maersk announced that it will cut about 1,000 jobs, aiming to achieve its goal of saving $180 million in annual costs. "In order to continuously improve production efficiency and maintain strict cost control, Maersk has taken measures to streamline the organizational structure to reduce the company's management overhead," the group said in a statement. ”
As part of this adjustment, Maersk will reduce approximately 15% of its management positions across its global regions, branches and headquarters, involving 900 of its approximately 6,000 positions, to achieve overall cost reductions.
Maritime Business The shipping sector continued to perform strongly in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a quarterly volume increase of 8.0%. However, market freight pressure continued to intensify, resulting in a loss of $153 million in EBIT in the segment, compared with a profit of $1.6 billion in the same period last year.
Despite an 8.0% increase in volume, operating costs only rose by 1.6%, mainly due to the efficiency improvement brought about by the "Gemini Alliance".
The ship loading rate in the shipping sector remained high at 94%, compared with 95% in the same period last year, while the "Gemini Alliance" continued to achieve high on-time schedules, improve asset turnover efficiency and reduce operating costs.
For the full year, the business achieved EBIT of nearly $1.4 billion due to strong volume performance in a volatile market environment. However, due to continued pressure on freight rates, its profitability has declined compared to 2024.
Full-year cargo volume increased by 4.9% year-on-year; however, freight rates fell by 17% year-on-year, negatively impacting revenue, which declined to $35 billion for the year. The growth in cargo volume led to higher operating costs, but a 12% drop in fuel prices and a 4.2% improvement in fuel consumption efficiency partially offset the cost pressure.
Vessel load factors remained high at 94% (compared to 96% in the same period last year), while overall schedule reliability further improved. The Gemini collaboration continued to achieve outstanding results, with asset turnover efficiency surpassing traditional operating models and notable improvements in schedule reliability and cost efficiency being realized as planned.
In the logistics and services segment, fourth-quarter 2025 revenue grew by 1.9% year-on-year, and the EBIT margin increased by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year to 4.9%, achieving year-on-year growth for the seventh consecutive quarter, though it saw a 0.6% sequential decline.
For the full year, Maersk stated that the segment expanded its network coverage in strategic locations, enhanced service reliability, and laid a foundation for the long-term growth of the business portfolio. Despite a volatile market environment, these developments ultimately drove year-on-year increases in both revenue and EBIT margin.
In terminals and infrastructure, Maersk’s terminal business continued to achieve strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, with revenue up 13% year-on-year. Terminal throughput increased by 8.4%, driven primarily by momentum in the European, North American, and Latin American markets. As a result, terminal utilization rose to 88% year-on-year (compared to 84% in the same period last year).
Comparable revenue per container increased by 1.9%, mainly due to rate increases; comparable container costs rose by 3.9% due to higher labor costs, although improved utilization partially offset this impact. The segment’s EBIT margin decreased by 4.6 percentage points year-on-year to 23.7% (compared to 28.3% last year). Excluding impairments in the European market and $86 million in asset write-downs in Asia, the adjusted EBIT margin would have been 30.1%.
In 2025, Maersk’s terminal business achieved record financial performance, with throughput, revenue, EBITDA, and EBIT all reaching new highs. EBIT reached $1.7 billion, up 31% from 2024.
This outstanding performance was mainly driven by rate increases, strong demand across business segments, and growth in storage income. Full-year throughput rose by 8.9%, pushing terminal utilization up to 86% (compared to 78% last year), with several terminals approaching optimal utilization levels. Revenue per container increased by 8.2%, supported by improved rates, higher storage income, and optimization of the terminal business portfolio.
2026 full-year performance guidance Looking ahead to 2026, Maersk expects EBITDA to be between $4.5 billion and $7 billion, and EBIT to fluctuate between -$1.5 billion and $1 billion. From 2026 to 2027, capital expenditures are expected to be between $10 billion and $11 billion.
Maersk's performance expectations are based on the judgment that global container cargo volume will grow by 2% to 4% in 2026, and the company's business growth rate is expected to keep pace with the market level. This range also takes into account the expected excess capacity in the shipping industry and the potential gradual reopening of the Red Sea shipping lanes in 2026.
In addition, the underlying EBIT forecast includes the impact of an accounting policy change. From January 1, 2026, the expected service life of ships will be adjusted from 20 years to 25 years, which is expected to reduce depreciation expense by about $700 million in 2026.
Maersk Group's financial performance in 2026 will be affected by multiple uncertainties, including macroeconomic conditions, fuel prices and freight rate trends. Assuming other things being equal, the 2026 performance sensitivity analysis for the following four key variables is as follows:
Vincent Clerk, CEO of Maersk, said: "In a year where supply chains and global trade continue to be reshaped by geopolitical evolution, we have not only created excellent value for our customers, but also delivered outstanding performance answers. Cargo volume growth and efficient asset utilization across all segments of the Group: Shipping set a new benchmark for schedule reliability, Terminals achieved record-breaking results, and Logistics & Services continued to move forward. This year highlights the need to strengthen and upgrade global supply chains and critical infrastructure, and further confirms the forward-thinking nature of our strategy. The key to our success has always been working closely with our clients, relying on a unique global asset network, and our continuous pursuit of operational excellence and cost control. ”
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