Hapag-Lloyd earnings surge as higher freight rates lift profitability
Hapag-Lloyd reported a sharp increase in third-quarter earnings in 2026, supported by significantly higher container freight rates and strong vessel utilisation, despite broadly unchanged transport volumes and continued disruption across international shipping networks.
The German container carrier generated group revenue of USD 6.88 billion during the three months ended 30 September, compared with USD 5.46 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. EBITDA nearly doubled to USD 1.73 billion from USD 866 million, while EBIT increased to USD 1.09 billion from USD 228 million.
Group profit reached USD 999 million, compared with USD 172 million a year earlier. The improvement was driven primarily by higher freight rates in the Liner Shipping segment, alongside growing contributions from the company’s Terminal & Infrastructure business.
The strong quarterly performance follows a more challenging first half and has contributed to a further upward revision of Hapag-Lloyd’s full-year earnings outlook.
Freight rates drive earnings despite stable volumes
Hapag-Lloyd’s Liner Shipping business generated revenue of USD 6.72 billion in the third quarter, an increase from USD 5.36 billion in the same period last year.
The average freight rate rose to USD 1,808 per TEU, compared with USD 1,413 per TEU in the third quarter of 2025, representing an increase of approximately 28%.
Transport volumes, however, remained largely unchanged at 3.38 million TEU, slightly below the 3.40 million TEU recorded a year earlier.
The contrast highlights the central role of freight pricing in the company’s quarterly earnings recovery, with higher rates supporting revenue growth despite the absence of a corresponding increase in container volumes.
Liner Shipping EBITDA rose to USD 1.67 billion from USD 836 million, while segment EBIT increased to USD 1.05 billion from USD 219 million.
Hapag-Lloyd said strong vessel utilisation contributed to the improvement, although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and weather-related operational disruptions continued to place pressure on unit costs.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, attributed the stronger results to higher spot rates, robust demand and high capacity utilisation.
“We delivered a strong third quarter, driven by significantly higher spot rates, robust demand and high capacity utilization,” said Habben Jansen.
Terminal business strengthens its contribution
Hapag-Lloyd’s Terminal & Infrastructure segment also reported higher revenue and operating earnings, supported by investments in terminal capacity and improved performance across its Latin American operations.
Revenue increased to USD 197 million from USD 131 million in the third quarter of 2025, representing growth of approximately 50%.
Segment EBITDA rose to USD 56 million from USD 30 million, while EBIT reached USD 34 million, compared with USD 9 million a year earlier.
The terminal business remains considerably smaller than the company’s container shipping operations in revenue terms, but its expansion reflects Hapag-Lloyd’s strategy of developing a broader presence across maritime infrastructure.
The company holds equity interests in 27 marine terminals across Europe, Latin America, the United States, India and North Africa.
Nine-month results show a different earnings picture
Despite the strong third quarter, Hapag-Lloyd’s cumulative earnings for the first nine months of 2026 remained below the previous year’s level in terms of net profit.
Group revenue increased to USD 17.64 billion from USD 16.05 billion, while EBITDA improved to USD 3.05 billion from USD 2.79 billion.
EBIT rose to USD 1.10 billion from USD 905 million, but group profit declined to USD 827 million from USD 946 million.
The difference between the quarterly and nine-month figures reflects the weaker earnings recorded earlier in the year, before the stronger freight rate environment contributed to the sharp recovery in the third quarter.
Across the nine-month period, Hapag-Lloyd transported 10.07 million TEU, compared with 9.99 million TEU a year earlier. Average freight rates increased to USD 1,541 per TEU from USD 1,421 per TEU.
The group’s nine-month EBITDA margin stood at 17.3%, broadly unchanged from 17.4% in the previous year, despite the improvement to 25.1% during the third quarter.
Hapag-Lloyd raises full-year earnings outlook
Following the stronger-than-expected performance and continued favourable spot freight rates, Hapag-Lloyd raised its earnings forecast for the full 2026 financial year on 11 November.
The company now expects group EBITDA of between USD 4.6 billion and USD 5.0 billion, compared with its previous guidance of USD 3.9 billion to USD 4.4 billion.
The EBIT forecast was also increased to between USD 2.0 billion and USD 2.4 billion, up from the previous range of USD 1.25 billion to USD 1.75 billion.
The revised outlook reflects expectations that stronger freight rates will continue to support earnings during the fourth quarter, which the company said was developing better than previously anticipated.
Nevertheless, Hapag-Lloyd cautioned that its financial projections remain subject to considerable uncertainty because of volatile freight rates, geopolitical tensions and persistent operational disruptions.
The latest results underline the sensitivity of container shipping profitability to freight rate movements. While Hapag-Lloyd’s transport volumes have remained relatively stable, stronger pricing has substantially improved quarterly earnings, reinforcing the importance of freight market conditions for the carrier’s financial performance through the remainder of 2026.
