Danish shipping giant Maersk lifted its 2025 earnings outlook on Thursday, owing to robust demand for freight transportation despite uncertainty amid U.S. tariffs, although the shipper warned demand was likely to ease in the second half of the year.
Maersk said it was now projecting a core profit of between $8 billion and $9.5 billion for the year, compared with the previously announced range of $6 billion to $9 billion.
Maersk, viewed as a barometer of world trade, said it now expected global container volumes to increase by 2% to 4% this year, compared with a range of down 1% to up 4% estimated in May. The new range implies lower second-half growth, it said.
"Even with market volatility and historical uncertainty in global trade, demand remained resilient and we've continued to respond with speed and flexibility," Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc said in an earnings statement.
A contraction in U.S. imports "was more than offset" by strong growth in imports into other regions, including Europe, Maersk said in its second-quarter earnings statement. Maersk shares rose by over 3% in early trading.
At the same time, the shipping giant cautioned that "the outlook for global container demand over the remainder of the year remains uncertain, shaped by a rapidly evolving tariff landscape and high policy uncertainty in the U.S."
Trade between China and the U.S. plummeted earlier this year amid escalating tit-for-tat tariffs, prompting container shipping companies like MSC and Cosco to suspend regular routes or cancel individual voyages.
While a truce was agreed, investors remain on edge over whether the world's two largest economies will be able to clinch a deal to avert a 55% tariff before an Aug. 12 deadline.
"In a highly politicized environment, and confronted with major disruptions, goods continued to flow across and within countries," said Maersk, which also operates a large logistics business.
Maersk also said it expected the disruption of shipments through the Red Sea to last for the remainder of the year.
Shipping companies have benefited from longer sailing times and soaring freight rates as ships are rerouted around Africa, as Houthis have attacked some vessels in the Red Sea in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has, in recent weeks, come under increasing pressure to end the war in Gaza, which could reopen the Red Sea for container shipping.
Maersk said EBITDA rose 7% year-on-year in the second quarter to $2.3 billion, above the $1.98 billion expected by analysts.
Sales rose 3% year-on-year to $13.1 billion, also beating the $12.61 billion forecast by analysts in a company-compiled poll.
