ZIM Reports Q2 Revenue of $1.78B, Freight Rates Up 8%

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services shares fell Wednesday after the company reported second-quarter results.

Earnings Snapshot

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 64 cents, well above the analyst consensus estimate of a loss of 33 cents per share.

Revenue rose 9% year-over-year to $1.781 billion, also beating the consensus estimate of $1.599 billion. The growth was driven by higher freight rates and increased shipping volumes.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 4% year-over-year to $491 million in the second quarter.

Shipping volumes rose 3% year-over-year to 922,000 TEUs. The average freight rate per TEU increased 8% year-over-year to $1,590.

The company generated $395 million in operating cash flow and $386 million in free cash flow during the quarter. Net cash stood at $2.46 billion as of June 30, 2026.

Adjusted EBITDA reached $491 million, compared with $472 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBIT margins were 28% and 10%, respectively.

Fleet Update

ZIM currently operates 115 container ships with a total capacity of 707,000 TEUs, along with 13 car carriers, down from 123 container ships and 14 car carriers at the time of its second-quarter 2025 earnings release.

Charter agreements for nine container ships totaling approximately 35,000 TEUs are set to expire during the remainder of 2026, while charters for 13 ships totaling approximately 28,000 TEUs are scheduled to expire in 2027. Despite the flexibility in managing capacity, ZIM expects its operating capacity to remain stable through 2026.

ZIM has charter agreements covering 40 vessels totaling approximately 286,000 TEUs in capacity, primarily newbuilds. These include four 8,000-TEU vessels equipped with scrubbers scheduled for delivery between the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027, and ten 11,500-TEU dual-fuel LNG vessels scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2028.

In addition, the company has four secondhand 9,000-TEU vessels scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2028, and 20 newbuild vessels ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 TEUs scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2028, with charter terms of 5 or 7.5 years, some with extension options.

ZIM share performance: ZIM Integrated Shipping shares fell 6.04% to $26.77 on Wednesday.