Danish shipping giant Maersk reported second-quarter EBITDA of $3 billion, sharply ahead of the $2.04 billion expected by analysts in an LSEG-compiled consensus, and raised its full-year underlying EBITDA guidance to $8u2013$10 billion from a prior range of $4.5u2013$7 billion. Net profit for the April-to-June quarter came in at $1.3 billion, up from $614 million a year earlier. Shares of the company surged roughly 7% in European morning trading after the results were released Thursday.
The profit improvement came even as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continued to throttle tanker and cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil, gas, and crucial industrial products. Maersk also revised its outlook for global container market volume growth to approximately 4% for full-year 2026, up from a prior range of 2%u20134%, citing resilient demand particularly from Asia. The company warned that the situation in the Middle East remains volatile and continues to affect logistics networks and customer supply chains.
Chief executive Vincent Clerc credited the company's ability to capture opportunities in disrupted markets, noting that demand volumes had continued 'completely unabated' despite war in the Middle East and elevated U.S. tariffs. Maersk continues to operate under extensive contingency measures, including restricted bookings to several Gulf markets, rerouted cargo through alternative hubs, and emergency freight surcharges covering additional storage, charter, and rerouting costs.
For operators importing or exporting goods, the Maersk result is a direct signal: elevated freight rates and surcharges are not a temporary condition. The carrier's improved free cash flow guidance u2014 now at least negative $1.5 billion versus a prior estimate of negative $3 billion u2014 indicates it expects these conditions to persist well into the second half of the year. Businesses that have not locked in long-term shipping contracts should weigh spot-rate exposure carefully as the Hormuz situation shows no near-term resolution.
July consumer prices rose just 0.1% month-over-month, matching expectations and prompting traders to reduce bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike at the September 15u201316 FOMC meeting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was scheduled to release the July Producer Price Index at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday, with consensus expecting a 0.1% headline monthly increase; Goldman Sachs wrote in a note Thursday that most FOMC voters would want to see the August CPI and PPI before deciding whether to hike in September. Stock futures were modestly positive early Thursday, with the S&P 500 having come within striking distance of a record following Wednesday's gains.
CoreWeave reported second-quarter revenue of $2.58 billion, up 112% year-over-year, while Nebius Group posted revenue of $582 million, up 454%, both clearing consensus estimates with ease. CoreWeave shares gained roughly 19% on Wednesday and Nebius surged approximately 34%, lifting broader AI-related equities and helping the Nasdaq 100 reach a one-month high. Both neocloud operators reported that additional compute capacity is sold out as soon as it comes online, reinforcing the view that enterprise AI spending is accelerating faster than Wall Street modeled.
Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management is forming a consortium with BlueFive Capital and Wendy's franchisee Flynn Group to take the fast-food chain private, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters and the Financial Times. A formal bid is expected in the coming weeks, though sources cautioned the timeline could shift. Wendy's shares jumped as much as 15% Wednesday on the news; the chain carries a market value of approximately $1.44 billion and has lost share within the quick-service hamburger category for 17 straight months.
The potential Wendy's deal is the latest in a string of restaurant buyout attempts as franchisors grapple with sluggish consumer demand and the limits of promotional pricing. Reuters noted that Yum Brands-owned Pizza Hut agreed to sell itself u2014 excluding its China business u2014 to private equity firm LongRange Capital in June, while Papa John's has fended off offers from multiple buyers over the past year. For franchise operators and restaurant suppliers, the consolidation wave signals that private capital sees structural value in brand infrastructure even as near-term consumer traffic remains under pressure.
Cisco reported fourth-quarter revenue of $17.3 billion, up 18% year-over-year, and full-year revenue of $63.3 billion, up 12%, calling fiscal 2026 its strongest year in three decades with record annual revenue, operating margin, and earnings per employee. Networking product orders grew 40% year-over-year in Q4, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, and the company took $4 billion in AI orders in Q4 alone, bringing the full-year total to $9.3 billion. Despite the record results, the stock fell nearly 6% in pre-market trading Thursday as investors focused on whether hyperscaler order momentum can be sustained into FY2027.
Semiconductor-equipment maker Applied Materials was scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter 2026 results after the closing bell on Thursday, with analysts projecting approximately $9 billion in revenue, up roughly 23% year-over-year, and EPS near $3.39. The company guided to 30%-plus growth in semiconductor equipment spending for 2026, driven by AI data-center buildouts, advanced packaging, and gate-all-around transistor complexity. The results will be closely watched as a barometer of whether the AI hardware spending cycle is translating into sustained equipment demand.
Crude oil held near $89 a barrel as the Iran-U.S. military standoff continued to restrict tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while Houthi attacks in the Red Sea added a further risk premium. A surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles provided some offset, but analysts noted that Hormuz traffic remained severely restricted and global oil stockpiles continue to draw. UBS said it expects falling real rates and a softer dollar to revive gold demand as the Fed holds in 2026, seeing any dips toward $4,000 per ounce as buying opportunities.
Six people aboard a vessel in the Red Sea were killed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, according to Yemen's coast guard, marking the first reported fatalities from attacks on Red Sea shipping in more than a year. U.S. forces separately said they had fired missiles at a container ship allegedly attempting to breach Washington's blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman. The escalation reinforces Maersk's warning that Middle East logistics disruption is becoming a structural rather than temporary condition for global supply chains.
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 99.8, up 2.4 points, reaching its best level since August 2025 and surpassing the index's 52-year average of 98.0. A seasonally adjusted net 20% of owners said they planned to create new jobs over the next three months, the highest reading since October 2022 and up 9 points from June. NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg noted that although uncertainty remains elevated, Main Street anticipates business conditions will continue to improve.
Two consecutive in-line inflation prints reduce the immediate risk of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, which offers some relief on variable-rate debt and signals that the cost environment u2014 while still elevated u2014 is not deteriorating. Operators carrying floating-rate loans or planning capital expenditure should treat this window as an opportunity to lock in financing terms before the FOMC's next decision.
Freight and energy costs remain structurally elevated. Maersk's blowout quarter confirms that any business relying on ocean shipping u2014 whether importing components or exporting finished goods u2014 is operating in a market where carriers have pricing power and surcharges are a permanent feature, not a crisis measure. The Houthi fatalities in the Red Sea signal that the security situation is deteriorating, not stabilizing. Review your logistics contracts and war-risk insurance coverage now rather than after a rate spike.