Copenhagen, February 5, 2026, 11:34 CET — Regular session.
- Shares of Maersk B fell in Copenhagen following the group’s forecast of weaker earnings for 2026
- Company points to overcapacity and a slow rebound in shorter Red Sea routes as reasons for the drop in freight rates
- Attention shifts to Red Sea transits set for mid-February and a new buyback tranche kicking off February 9
A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S shares dropped roughly 6% on Thursday. The shipping giant flagged that declining freight rates and a shift back to shorter routes through the Red Sea might pressure profits in 2026. 1
The outlook matters since Maersk serves as a barometer for global trade and represents a significant portion of publicly traded shipping. If rates drop as vessels cut days from their routes, the cycle can shift quickly — and it rarely impacts just one stock.
Maersk plans to propose a dividend of 480 Danish crowns per share alongside a share buyback program capped at 6.3 billion crowns over the next 12 months. The initial buyback phase will run from Feb. 9 to Aug. 5. Additionally, the company aims to slash corporate overhead by $180 million annually and eliminate roughly 1,000 corporate jobs. 2
Maersk B shares slipped to 15,075 crowns, marking a 5.7% drop from Wednesday’s 15,980 close, after hitting a session low of 14,665. 3
Maersk and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd announced earlier this week that their joint ME11 service will restart transit through the Red Sea and Suez Canal by mid-February, with vessels sailing under naval escort. Prior to attacks that pushed many carriers to reroute around Africa, the Suez passage accounted for roughly 10% of global maritime trade. 4
Freight forwarder DSV, acting as the middleman between shippers and ocean carriers, said shifting back to the shorter route would free up capacity and drive rates lower. “That will free up some capacity obviously if you get the transit time reduced quite a bit,” CFO Michael Ebbe said during an investor call. He also warned this could temporarily strain some European ports. 5
Maersk issues a stark warning: new ship deliveries are coming online even as demand shows signs of weakening. Plus, shorter routes let the existing fleet churn out more containers. That typically spells trouble for pricing power.
But the rate story could flip. Should security in the Red Sea worsen, carriers might divert around the Cape of Good Hope once more, tightening capacity and pushing spot rates higher — the very dynamic that bolstered profits during previous disruptions.
Traders will be keeping an eye on how much Maersk can shift its focus to terminals and logistics as ocean margins tighten, and how deeply the cost-cutting measures will impact the 2026 results.
The next markers are coming up fast: Maersk kicks off the first phase of its buyback on Feb. 9. Then, mid-February Red Sea transits are set to offer investors an early glimpse of whether the route will reopen smoothly or hit snags.
