Maersk Stock Price Plunges On Earnings Miss and Coronavirus Warnings

Shares of the shipping giant Maersk plunged today on the earnings miss and warnings that the coronavirus outbreak will impact the company’s earnings this year. As a result, the Maersk stock price closed nearly 4% lower today.

Maersk reported EBITDA of $1.46 billion for the fourth-quarter, which is lower than the $1.51 expected from the market’s analysts. For this year, the company expects EBITDA of $5.5 billion, again lower than the $6 billion expected. Last year, Maersk earned $5.7 billion.

Still, Maersk expects that the demand for shipping will grow 1% to 3% this year, after a rise of 1.4% last year, and 3.8% two years ago.

Yesterday, Maersk announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Performance Team, a warehousing company from the United States. The aim of the purchase is to deliver more customized logistics solutions.

The Denmark-based Maersk is considered to be the world’s biggest container shipping firm with around 20% of the global market share.

Technical analysis: Stock moves lower

Shares of Maersk have moved lower in reaction to the company’s warnings that the coronavirus is likely to weigh on earnings this year. This hasn’t surprised investors much, given that this was expected given the nature of the shipping business and China’s role in it.

The bears managed to force a close today below both the 100 DMA and 200 DMA, which will further impact price developments in the short-term. Maersk stock price is now likely to continue lower as the bears have assumed control. The zone around 7450 looks like the next destination lower.

Summary

Maersk stock price lost around 4% after the company reported lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth-quarter, and issued a warning that the coronavirus outbreak will impact profits this year.