Kuehne+Nagel lifts 2026 profit forecast to CHF 1.55 billion on air logistics

Kuehne+Nagel raised its 2026 recurring EBIT guidance to as much as CHF 1.55 billion after Air Logistics profit jumped 35% in the second quarter.

"The Kuehne+Nagel Group gained significant momentum in the second quarter of 2026, once again demonstrating its ability to position itself successfully in the market," Chief Executive Officer Stefan Paul said.

The Swiss freight forwarder now expects recurring earnings before interest and taxes of CHF 1.35 billion to CHF 1.55 billion for the full year, up from the CHF 1.25 billion to CHF 1.40 billion range it set in April. Analysts had forecast a median of CHF 1.41 billion, a company-provided poll showed. Last year's recurring EBIT was CHF 1.24 billion.

The guidance raise places Kuehne+Nagel among a string of logistics companies — including Deutsche Post, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk — that have upgraded earnings expectations in recent weeks, pointing to resilient freight demand even as global trade uncertainty persists.

Metric	Actual	Consensus	Beat/Miss
Q2 EBIT	CHF 381M	CHF 356M	+7.0%
Q2 Net Turnover	CHF 6.6B	N/A	N/A
FY 2026 EBIT Guidance	CHF 1.35-1.55B	CHF 1.41B	Midpoint above consensus

Air Logistics net turnover rose 20% year-over-year to CHF 2.2 billion in the quarter, while EBIT climbed 35% to CHF 154 million. The conversion rate reached 31%. Air freight volumes totaled 1.1 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, driven by market share gains in the tech sector and an improved customer portfolio mix. Kuehne+Nagel strengthened its end-to-end logistics business, including transporting cloud infrastructure equipment for Google from Asia to the US.

Sea Logistics posted EBIT of CHF 140 million on net turnover of CHF 2.2 billion, with a conversion rate of 29% — a sequential improvement of four percentage points. Container volumes reached 2.1 million TEU in the first half. The business gained market share on trade routes from Asia to Europe and North America, while European export business remained subdued.

Road Logistics EBIT rose 29% to CHF 36 million, and Contract Logistics EBIT increased 21% to CHF 51 million. The company secured new warehouse contracts with cloud providers totaling more than 300,000 square meters.

Group-wide net turnover increased 8% to CHF 6.6 billion, while earnings rose 10% to CHF 276 million. The conversion rate stood at 17%.

The higher guidance suggests management expects air freight demand to remain strong through year-end, driven by tech sector shipments and cloud infrastructure buildout. Investors will watch the pace of AI-related logistics demand and any shifts in global trade policy that could affect the second-half outlook.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.