Group revenues in Q3 were $18.1 billion against $14.2 billion in Q3 in 2025.     Against the backdrop of strong earnings in Q3 Maersk has upped its full year EBIT forecast to $8 - $8.5 billion up rising from $4 – $6.5 billion previously based on a full growth forecast of 4% for global container volumes.     Vincent Clerc, Chief Executive Officer of Maersk: “We delivered a strong quarter across our businesses. Despite continued geopolitical uncertainty and disruptions, global trade has remained remarkably resilient.”     As is often the case for shipping disruption while operationally challenging proved beneficial to earnings for the Copenhagen-headquartered group. It noted that Asian exports were impacted by typhoon disruptions in July and August resulting in substantial port congestion that soaked up significant vessel capacity.      “At its peak, global average port waiting times reached 16.6 hours, the highest level since January 2023,” Maersk. This in turn positively impacted freight rates with the the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) up 46% in Q3 compared to the previous quarter.     Earnings for its ocean business reflected this with a $2.6 billion EBIT in Q3 compared to $576 million a year earlier. The ports business under APM Terminals reported an EBIT of $493 million compared to $571 million a year earlier, and logistics and services Q3 EBIT stood at $259 million up from $218 million in 2025.    

Maersk CEO Clerc was bullish on demand for container shipping and stated: “Demand is being driven not only by consumer spending, but increasingly by major investments in electrification, energy and the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, generating significant flows of industrial cargo around the world. We have been well positioned to capture this demand, with our vessel fleet operating at full capacity and demand exceeding available space on certain routes.”