Kuehne+Nagel lifts 2026 outlook for third time on strong air and sea logistics

By Reuters News

By Anastasiia Kozlova and Basile Day

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Kuehne+Nagel KNIN.S raised its 2026 operating profit guidance for the third time this year on Thursday, citing continued strength in its air logistics business and market share gains in sea logistics.

Major logistics companies have repeatedly lifted earnings forecasts this year, as they benefit from resilient trade flows, elevated shipping rates and bottlenecks in supply chains caused by the war in the Middle East.

The Swiss freight forwarder, which operates in more than 100 countries, expects recurring earnings before interest and taxes of 1.5 billion to 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.8 billion to $2.0 billion) in 2026, up from the 1.35 billion to 1.55 billion franc range last raised in July.

Analysts polled by the company had forecast a median operating profit of 1.5 billion francs for the year.

K+N said a cost-reduction programme would generate gross savings of more than 150 million francs in 2026, with AI-driven productivity gains of 100 million to 150 million francs expected from 2027 onwards.

Air Logistics saw an 84% rise in quarterly EBIT to 169 million francs, as air freight volume growth accelerated to 10% from 3% in the previous three months, well ahead of overall market growth, driven by demand from cloud infrastructure and semiconductor customers.

Sea logistics recorded a 55% EBIT growth to 172 million francs, driven primarily by market share gains on Asia outbound and transatlantic routes.

The group's EBIT rose 53% to 435 million francs in the quarter, beating analysts' median forecast of 398 million francs.

($1 = 0.8226 Swiss francs)

Capital.com is an execution-only brokerage platform and the content provided on the Capital.com website is intended for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the products or securities to which it applies. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.

The information provided does not constitute investment advice nor take into account the individual financial circumstances or objectives of any investor. Any information that may be provided relating to past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results or performance.

To the extent permitted by law, in no event shall Capital.com (or any affiliate or employee) have any liability for any loss arising from the use of the information provided. Any person acting on the information does so entirely at their own risk.

Any information which could be construed as “investment research” has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication.