Danaos (DAC)
NYSE:DAC
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Danaos
(NYSE:DAC)
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Rating:80Outperform
Price Target:
$152.00
â–²(51.74% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/14/26
DAC scores well primarily on attractive valuation (low P/E plus dividend) and solid underlying financial performance (high profitability and moderate leverage), supported by a positive earnings outlook with strong liquidity and backlog visibility. The score is capped by free-cash-flow volatility and technically stretched momentum signals that elevate near-term pullback risk.
Positive Factors
Contracted Backlog & Charter Coverage
A multi-year contracted backlog with a 4.2-year average charter length provides durable revenue visibility and cashflow predictability. High near-term coverage (100% for 2026, 88% for 2027) cushions earnings versus spot cycles and supports steady capital allocation and dividend policy.
Negative Factors
Free Cash Flow Volatility
Volatile and occasionally negative free cash flow limits the firm's ability to consistently fund capex, dividends and buybacks from operations. In a capital-intensive shipping business, weak FCF conversion heightens reliance on liquidity or new financing in downcycles.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Contracted Backlog & Charter Coverage
A multi-year contracted backlog with a 4.2-year average charter length provides durable revenue visibility and cashflow predictability. High near-term coverage (100% for 2026, 88% for 2027) cushions earnings versus spot cycles and supports steady capital allocation and dividend policy.
Read all positive factors
Danaos Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Danaos (DAC) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$2.37B
Dividend Yield3.64%
Average Volume (3M)86.81K
Price to Earnings (P/E)3.7
Beta (1Y)0.76
Revenue Growth2.95%
EPS Growth15.92%
CountryUS
Employees4
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryMarine Shipping
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)28.42
Shares Outstanding18,203,476
10 Day Avg. Volume118,259
30 Day Avg. Volume86,807
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio1.35
Price to Book (P/B)0.46
Price to Sales (P/S)1.67
P/FCF Ratio5.39
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.06
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.41
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit3.56
Enterprise Value/Ebitda3.40
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$174.00Price Target Upside73.70% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering1
EPS Forecast (FY)26.58
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.04B
Danaos Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Danaos Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates containerships in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the United States. The company offers seaborne transportation services, such as chartering its vessels to liner companies. As of F...
How the Company Makes Money
Danaos primarily makes money by chartering its containerships to container liner operators under time-charter contracts. Under a time charter, the charterer pays Danaos a contracted daily hire rate for the use of the vessel over the charter period...
Danaos Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 11, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Aug 10, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented a predominantly positive operational and financial picture: key profitability metrics (adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA) improved, drybulk TCEs surged, operating costs fell, liquidity is strong and leverage is low, and management is pursuing accretive growth (newbuilds, LNG interest). Offsetting items include pressure on containership revenues, higher G&A and interest expense, slightly reduced backlog vs. the prior quarter and geopolitical/operational risks. Overall, the positives (profitability, liquidity, low leverage, strategic expansion) outweigh the negatives, which are manageable in the near term.Positive Updates
Improved Adjusted Earnings and Profitability
Adjusted EPS of $6.72 and adjusted net income of 122.5 million, an increase of 9.1 million (≈+8.0% YoY). Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.2% (+$8.9 million) to $180.6 million from $171.7 million.
Negative Updates
Containership Revenue Pressure
Operating revenues for the containership fleet faced headwinds: a net decrease driven by lower contracted charter rates and lower non-cash U.S. GAAP revenue recognition (management cited a combined meaningful impact partially offset by newbuild additions and improved utilization).
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Improved Adjusted Earnings and Profitability
Adjusted EPS of $6.72 and adjusted net income of 122.5 million, an increase of 9.1 million (≈+8.0% YoY). Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.2% (+$8.9 million) to $180.6 million from $171.7 million.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
The company guided that it is well positioned to pursue accretive opportunities, citing a contracted revenue backlog of $4.1 billion with a 4.2‑year average charter duration and contract coverage of 100% for the remainder of 2026, 88% for 2027 and 65% for 2028; a pro forma fleet of 104 containerships and 15 Capesize/Newcastlemax vessels (including orders for 4 Newcastlemaxes for 2028 and 2 × 5,000 TEU container ships for 2027 backed by three‑year charters); total liquidity of €1.3 billion (cash €900 million), net debt of 170 million (net debt/adjusted EBITDA 0.2x), 67 of 86 vessels unencumbered plus 12 additional unencumbered vessels securing the RCF, and $65 million remaining authority under a $300 million share repurchase program while declaring a $0.90 per share quarterly dividend; quarter metrics highlighted included adjusted EPS $6.72, net income $122.5 million (up €9.1 million YoY), adjusted EBITDA $180.6 million (+5.2% / +$8.9M), drybulk TCE ~$24.8k/day (vs ~$10.5k prior year), vessel operating expenses $50.0M (daily $6.68k vs $7.03k), G&A $14.6M, interest expense $10.9M, interest income $7.6M, and $120 million of backlog added since the prior release.Danaos Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
82
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
78
Positive
Cash Flow
70
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.04B | 1.04B | 1.01B | 973.58M | 993.34M | 689.50M |
| Gross Profit | 705.76M | 833.68M | 615.94M | 641.17M | 664.96M | 412.39M |
| EBITDA | 739.01M | 748.62M | 675.07M | 704.83M | 717.17M | 1.22B |
| Net Income | 519.89M | 494.61M | 505.07M | 576.30M | 559.21M | 1.05B |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 5.11B | 5.11B | 4.34B | 3.66B | 3.40B | 3.63B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 876.21M | 1.04B | 514.23M | 357.84M | 267.67M | 552.43M |
| Total Debt | 1.03B | 1.16B | 734.78M | 404.17M | 529.42M | 1.34B |
| Total Liabilities | 1.19B | 1.32B | 918.85M | 644.82M | 839.81M | 1.54B |
| Stockholders Equity | 3.92B | 3.80B | 3.42B | 3.02B | 2.56B | 2.09B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 298.99M | 322.29M | -37.59M | 308.26M | 735.61M | 72.39M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 670.93M | 618.98M | 621.75M | 576.29M | 934.74M | 428.11M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -416.45M | -325.70M | -650.79M | -338.53M | 176.57M | -143.15M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 159.48M | 290.62M | 210.61M | -233.62M | -973.40M | -220.87M |
Danaos Technical Analysis
Positive
100.17
Price Trends
118.99
Positive
111.08
Positive
101.03
Positive
Market Momentum
4.12
Positive
60.15
Neutral
54.20
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For DAC, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 100.17 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 126.31, below the 50-day MA of 118.99, and below the 200-day MA of 101.03, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 4.12 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 60.15 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 54.20 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for DAC.
Danaos Risk Analysis
Danaos disclosed 67 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Danaos reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Danaos Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
83 Outperform | $1.47B | 3.06 | 24.76% | 6.16% | 7.79% | 16.98% | |
80 Outperform | $2.37B | 3.65 | 13.85% | 3.64% | 2.95% | 15.92% | |
72 Outperform | $2.07B | 6.34 | 16.80% | 2.94% | -59.07% | 10.43% | |
70 Outperform | $2.05B | 3.29 | 8.85% | 0.39% | 0.76% | -19.76% | |
64 Neutral | $3.08B | 16.78 | 12.06% | 20.35% | -18.07% | -77.70% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
63 Neutral | $1.80B | 13.74 | 3.21% | 12.24% | -16.39% | -44.25% |
* Industrials Sector Average
DAC
Danaos
129.81
47.79
58.27%
CMRE
Costamare
16.78
8.48
102.10%
GSL
Global Ship Lease
40.29
16.45
68.99%
NMM
Navios Maritime Partners
74.85
34.90
87.37%
SFL
SFL Corporation
12.49
4.61
58.56%
ZIM
ZIM
25.55
8.43
49.24%
Danaos Corporate Events
Danaos Posts Solid Q1 2026 as Drybulk Strength and Cost Controls Offset Container Weakness
May 12, 2026
Danaos reported results for the three months ended March 31, 2026, highlighting marginal growth in total operating revenues to $253.7 million despite lower container segment revenues. The company operated an average of 75.0 container vessels and 1...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.