Major global container shipping companies and logistics enterprises successively announced their financial reports for the fourth quarter of 2025 or the forecast for the 2025 recently. Some saw rising revenue and some witnessed reducing profit or bigger losses on the year. Hapag-Lloyd thinks positive factors emerging in 2026 but Maersk expects the profit to under pressure in 2026.

Hapag-Lloyd

Recently, Hapag-Lloyd released its preliminary operating data for 2025. Full-year cargo volume grew 8% year-on-year to 13.5 million TEU. However, average freight rates declined 8%, and profitability fell notably short of the prior year, in line with market expectations. Notably, synergies from the Gemini cooperation with Maersk are gradually emerging, with cost optimization and network efficiency beginning to offset downward pressure on freight rates.

According to the preliminary figures, the group generated revenue of $21.1 billion (approx. Euro 18.6 billion) in the 2025 fiscal year, with EBITDA of $3.6 billion (approx. Euro 3.2 billion) and EBIT of $1.1 billion (approx. Euro 1.0 billion). Overall results landed at the upper end of the company's previous profit guidance range. However, against a backdrop of falling freight rates and persistent cost pressures, performance was down year-on-year as expected, indicating that profitability was returning to pre-Red Sea crisis norms.

Hapag-Lloyd stated that full-year results were weighed down by rising operating costs due to vessels continuing to divert around the Cape of Good Hope, as well as start-up expenses related to the Gemini network. Nevertheless, positive factors are emerging: cost savings associated with Gemini began to be gradually realized in the second half of 2025, and their synergies are expected to be fully reflected in 2026. Additionally, one-off non-cash items in the fourth quarter of 2025 contributed positively to the period's performance.

OOCL

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has released its unaudited operating summary for the fourth quarter of 2025. The company achieved full-year revenue of$8.777 billion, down 10.6% year-on-year.

HMM

HMM stated that despite a weak global shipping market, the company has maintained a solid profit performance. In 2025, HMM reported revenue of 10.891 trillion KRW (approx. US$7.51 billion) and net profit of 1.879 trillion KRW (approx. US$1.3 billion), down 50.3% year-on-year, while operating profit was 1.461 trillion KRW (approx. $1.01 billion), down 58.4% year-on-year. Despite these market challenges, the company achieved an operating margin of 13.4% for 2025, demonstrating its resilient profitability. Please note that the above figures are preliminary, unaudited data based on HMM's tentative internal information and are subject to change.

Maersk

Maersk disclosed that its maritime division reported an Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) loss of US$153 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. This not only fell short of the US$567 million profit recorded in the previous quarter but also marked a stark contrast to the US$1.6 billion profit posted in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Vincent Clerc, the company's Chief Executive Officer, candidly stated that 2025 was a year when the global supply chain and trade landscape was continuously reshaped by evolving geopolitics, with the shipping industry confronting unprecedented challenges.

Although the group's overall operational performance in the fourth quarter was largely in line with market expectations, the future profit outlook is clearly under pressure. Maersk projected that its full-year 2026 EBIT will range from a loss of US$1.5 billion to a profit of US$1 billion, the wide range underscores the extreme uncertainty plaguing the industry.

ONE

Ocean Network Express (ONE) announced earlier that it reported an operating loss of US$84 million and a net loss of US$88 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, sparking widespread market concerns over the outlook of the liner shipping industry.

DSV

Danish logistics giant DSV has recently released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. The company achieved a record-breaking annual revenue of 247.331 billion Danish kroner (DKK), a significant increase compared to167.106 billion DKK in 2024.

The fourth quarter delivered an outstanding performance, with gross profit reaching 19.119 billion DKK and Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT), excluding special items, amounting to 5.592 billion DKK-marking a year-on-year growth of 48.5%.

Breaking down the performance by division, the Air & Sea segment demonstrated resilience and stability amidst industry-wide freight rate volatility. In particular, this division generated an EBIT of 3.071 billion DKK during the fourth quarter, underlining its robust profitability.

Evergreen Shipping

Evergreen Shipping reported NT$30.7 billion (approx. US$980 million) in consolidated revenue for December 2025, representing a year-on-year decrease of 19.6% but a month-on-month increase of 11.1%.

For the full year 2025, the company's cumulative consolidated revenue reached NT$379.04 billion (approx. $12.16 billion), down 18.2% compared to the previous year.

According to the latest data from Alphaliner, Evergreen Shipping ranks 7th globally among liner shipping companies by capacity. The company currently operates a fleet of 239 vessels-comprising 162 owned ships and 77 chartered-in ships-with a total capacity of 1.958 million TEU. Additionally, Evergreen holds newbuilding orders for 53 vessels with a combined capacity of 834,000 TEU.

Yangming Marine

Yangming Marine reported consolidated revenue of NT$13.24 billion (approx. $420 million) in December 2025, down 23.2% year-on-year but up 4.1% month-on-month.

For the full year 2025, the company's cumulative consolidated revenue reached NT$163.75 billion (approx. $5.25 billion), a decrease of 26.6% compared to the previous year.

Cai Fengming, Chairman of Yang Ming, recently stated that to increase market share, the company plans to order more new vessels. The goal is to expand its fleet to 1.25 million TEU by 2032 and acquire more container terminals.

Wanhai Lines

Wanhai Lines reported consolidated revenue of NT$12.08 billion (approx. $380 million) in December 2025, down 15.7% year-on-year but up 11.3% month-on-month.

For the full year 2025, the company's cumulative consolidated revenue reached NT$140.35 billion (approx. $4.5 billion), a decrease of 13.2% compared to the previous year.

According to the latest data from Alphaliner, Wanhai Lines ranks 11th globally among liner shipping companies by capacity. The company currently operates a fleet of 119 vessels, all of which are owned (zero chartered-in ships), with a total capacity of 585,000 TEU. Additionally, Wan Hai holds newbuilding orders for 38 vessels with a combined capacity of 391,000 TEU.