Clarkson (CKN) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: £1.42B
• Dividend Yield: 2.89%
• Average Volume (3M): 43.54K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 17.8
• Beta (1Y): 0.67
• Revenue Growth: 3.29%
• EPS Growth: -8.76%
• Country: UK
• Employees: 2,181
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Marine Shipping
• EPS (TTM): 1.20
• Shares Outstanding: 30,917,444
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 36,407
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 43,541
• PEG Ratio: -0.78
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.23
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.85
• P/FCF Ratio: 16.64
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: £4,833.33
• Price Target Upside: 16.05% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 3
• EPS Forecast (FY): 2.45
• Revenue Forecast (FY): £664.02M

• Rating: 75 Outperform
• Price Target: 5,119.00 p ▲(22.91% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 03/12/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 03/12/26

The score is driven primarily by strong underlying financial quality—high margins and a low-leverage, strengthening balance sheet—tempered by weakening 2025 revenue/profit/cash-flow momentum. Technically the trend is positive (above major moving averages with positive MACD), but overbought RSI/Stoch readings add near-term risk, while valuation is reasonable but not notably cheap.

Positive Factors

Exceptionally high margins

Clarkson's gross margins near 90–96% and sustained net margins around 10–13% indicate persistent pricing power and low direct cost intensity across services. High margins support durable cash generation and reinvestment capacity, making earnings more resilient through shipping cycles.

Conservative balance sheet

Low leverage and materially higher equity since 2020 provide financial flexibility to withstand shipping cyclicality and fund opportunistic investments or buybacks. A conservative capital structure reduces solvency risk and supports continuity of operations through downturns.

High-quality cash generation

FCF historically tracking net income at ~85–95% shows earnings largely convert to cash, supporting dividends, debt coverage and discretionary spend. Even with recent declines, structural cash conversion strength underpins long-term capital allocation and creditor confidence.

Negative Factors

Revenue momentum weakening

A reversal to negative revenue growth in 2025 signals softer end-market activity or reduced transaction volumes for brokerage and financial services. Prolonged revenue contraction would pressure operating leverage, limit reinvestment, and challenge sustaining prior profitability levels.

Steep near-term cash decline

A marked fall in operating cash flow over two years reduces margin for error and could constrain capital returns or reinvestment. If weakened volumes persist, the drop in cash flow could force tougher allocation choices and reduce the buffer that the conservative balance sheet currently provides.

Business cyclicality and volatility

History of sharp swings—peak earnings followed by declines and a prior loss in 2020—shows Clarkson's revenue and profits are sensitive to shipping cycles and deal volumes. Structural cyclicality raises forecasting uncertainty and requires conservative planning for capital and staffing.

Clarkson Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Clarkson PLC provides integrated shipping services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Broking, Financial, Support, and Research. The Broking segment offers services to ship owners and charterers in the transportation of various cargoes by sea; and to buyers and sellers/yards related to sale and purchase transactions, as well as futures broking operation. This segment deals in containers, deep sea tankers, dry cargo, liquefied petroleum gas and ammonia, liquefied natural gas, offshore, petrochemical gases, renewables, shortsea, specialized products, sale and purchase, and PCTC markets; and towage, salvage, and transportation markets. The Financial segment provides investment banking services for maritime, oil services, and natural resources sectors; structured asset finance services and projects in the shipping, offshore, and real estate sectors; and freight derivative products. This segment also offers equity and fixed income sales and trading; equity and credit research; and corporate access and corporate finance services, including advising clients on various equity and debt capital markets, and M&A transactions. The Support segment provides port and agency, freight forwarding, supplies, and tools for the marine and offshore industries. The Research segment offers shipping-related information and publications; and collects, validates, analyses, and manages data to inform various business decisions. This segment provides web products, such as Shipping Intelligence Network and World Fleet Register to printed publications, including Shipping Intelligence Weekly and Offshore Intelligence Monthly; data and analysis services for IPO and bond issues; customer service contracts, primarily to the financial, government, insurance, equipment, and shipbuilding sectors; and valuations to owners and the financial community. It also offers research and legal services. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

How the Company Makes Money

Clarkson makes money primarily by earning fees and commissions from shipping-related transactions and services across its business segments. In its Broking segment, it generates revenue largely from brokerage commissions and fees tied to arranging chartering contracts (matching shipowners with charterers for freight contracts) and from sale and purchase transactions of vessels and related advisory work; these revenues tend to be linked to shipping market activity and asset values. In its Financial segment, it earns income from shipping derivatives and related brokerage/services (e.g., facilitating freight or commodity-related risk management instruments where applicable) and associated advisory/transaction fees; revenue is driven by client trading activity and demand for risk management. In its Support segment, it earns service fees from shipping agency, logistics, and other operational support activities provided to maritime customers. In its Research segment, it generates revenue from selling maritime market intelligence, data, and research products (typically via subscriptions and/or report sales). Specific material partnerships or customer concentration details: null.

Clarkson Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong profitability with exceptionally high gross margins (~90–96%) and healthy net margins (~10–13%) plus a conservatively financed balance sheet (low debt-to-equity ~0.08–0.17) and rising equity. Offsetting this, 2025 shows cooling momentum with slightly negative revenue growth (-2.7%) and lower net income (84.9m to 65.7m) and cash flow (operating cash flow down to 75.9m; free cash flow down to 70.4m).

Income Statement

Revenue expanded strongly from 2021–2024 (with a particularly large step-up in 2022), but eased in 2025 (annual revenue growth -2.7%). Profitability is a clear strength: gross margins are exceptionally high (~90–96%) and net margins remained healthy in 2021–2025 (~10–13%). That said, earnings have come off the 2023–2024 peak (net income down from 84.9m in 2024 to 65.7m in 2025), and the 2020 loss highlights some cyclicality/volatility in the business.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet appears conservatively financed with low leverage across the period (debt-to-equity roughly 0.08–0.17, improving vs. 2020). Equity has grown materially since 2020 (324.1m to 525.1m in 2025), supporting a stronger capital base. Returns on equity were solid in 2021–2025 (~12–19%) but moderated in 2025 versus 2023–2024, suggesting profitability has cooled somewhat even as the balance sheet strengthened.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is generally strong and high-quality, with free cash flow closely tracking net income (free cash flow to net income ~0.85–0.95 across years). However, cash flow has stepped down recently: operating cash flow declined from 155.3m (2023) to 114.7m (2024) to 75.9m (2025), and 2025 free cash flow fell to 70.4m with a -16.5% growth rate. This softer cash trajectory is the main watch item despite still-positive free cash flow.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	631.40M	661.40M	639.40M	603.80M	443.30M
Gross Profit	570.30M	627.70M	609.00M	582.00M	426.80M
EBITDA	99.40M	134.20M	108.60M	120.10M	86.20M
Net Income	65.70M	84.90M	83.80M	75.60M	50.10M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	978.50M	900.30M	875.60M	832.30M	682.10M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	471.50M	493.50M	439.00M	387.90M	271.90M
Total Debt	56.00M	38.10M	43.20M	47.60M	53.80M
Total Liabilities	450.70M	404.60M	419.00M	419.10M	320.50M
Stockholders Equity	525.10M	492.00M	452.60M	409.70M	356.90M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	70.40M	109.00M	147.30M	169.30M	107.20M
Operating Cash Flow	75.90M	114.70M	155.30M	178.90M	113.80M
Investing Cash Flow	-20.50M	-16.80M	-38.60M	-5.40M	14.30M
Financing Cash Flow	-76.50M	-70.70M	-90.00M	-63.20M	-39.90M

Clarkson Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 4165.00
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For GB:CKN, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 4165 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 4308.50, below the 50-day MA of 4184.30, and above the 200-day MA of 3685.78, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 123.71 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 68.14 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 83.62 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for GB:CKN.

Clarkson Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
CKN	75 Outperform	£1.42B	17.83	15.29%	2.89%	3.29%	-8.76%
BMS	64 Neutral	£75.27M	85.60	4.94%	2.25%	-15.64%	-22.46%
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
FSJ	56 Neutral	£260.40M	-42.97	23.85%	―	-12.37%	―

Clarkson Corporate Events

Clarkson boosts dividend as profits ease but order book and cash stay strong

Clarkson PLC reported a decline in 2025 underlying profit before tax to £90.6m from £115.3m and revenue slipping to £631.4m amid a year of geopolitical shocks, tariffs and sanctions that slowed activity in the first half. Despite lower earnings, the company increased its full-year dividend by 3% to 112p, extended its 23-year streak of dividend growth and highlighted resilient cash generation, with free cash resources rising to £232.0m.

Management stressed that trading momentum improved in the second half of 2025 and has continued into early 2026, supported by a larger forward order book of US$244m and stronger spot business than a year ago. The board also flagged the planned 2026 retirement of long-serving CFO and COO Jeff Woyda and an ongoing search for his successor, while emphasising that Clarksons’ diversified footprint, strong balance sheet and continued investment in talent and technology leave it well positioned to navigate ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:CKN) stock is a Buy with a £4661.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Clarkson stock, see the GB:CKN Stock Forecast page.

Clarkson PLC Confirms Total Voting Rights at Just Over 30.9 Million Shares

Clarkson PLC has confirmed that, as of 31 January 2026, its issued share capital comprises 30,917,444 ordinary shares, each carrying one voting right, with no shares held in treasury. This disclosure, made in line with UK financial transparency rules, sets the official denominator for investors when calculating whether changes in their shareholdings trigger regulatory notification requirements, providing clarity and stability for shareholders and supporting orderly disclosure in the market for Clarkson’s stock.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:CKN) stock is a Buy with a £4672.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Clarkson stock, see the GB:CKN Stock Forecast page.

Clarkson PLC Expects 2025 Profit to Reach at Least £90m on Strong Second Half

Clarkson PLC has signalled a strong trading performance for 2025, stating that its underlying profit before tax for the year to 31 December 2025 is expected to be at least £90m, driven by a stronger second half. The update underlines the resilience of Clarksons’ diversified shipping and offshore services franchise and its continued ability to generate robust earnings and cash, reinforcing its long track record of dividend growth and investments aimed at capitalising on opportunities in global shipping markets.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:CKN) stock is a Buy with a £4279.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Clarkson stock, see the GB:CKN Stock Forecast page.

Clarksons Buys AI Trading Specialist Zuma Labs to Boost FFA Market Technology

Clarkson PLC has acquired 100% of Zuma Labs Limited, a technology firm serving the Forward Freight Agreement and commodities markets, in a move to strengthen its technology-led offering to shipping, commodities and maritime clients. Zuma’s flagship platform, Venetian, a hybrid voice and electronic trading application powered by its AI engine Prism, is already used by leading broking houses to manage liquidity and live pricing data, and will continue to operate under the Zuma brand as a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal is expected to accelerate the roll-out of Venetian beyond the Dry FFA market and deepen the use of AI-driven tools across Clarksons’ markets, reinforcing the group’s strategy of using advanced technology and data to enhance broker and client engagement in increasingly complex global trading conditions.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:CKN) stock is a Buy with a £4279.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Clarkson stock, see the GB:CKN Stock Forecast page.

Clarkson PLC Confirms Total Voting Rights of 30.9 Million Shares

Clarkson PLC has confirmed that its issued share capital at 31 December 2025 comprised 30,913,052 ordinary shares, each carrying one voting right, and that it holds no shares in treasury, resulting in an identical total of 30,913,052 voting rights. This disclosure, made under the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s transparency rules, provides an updated denominator for shareholders and investors when assessing and reporting their ownership stakes, helping maintain clarity over Clarksons’ capital structure and supporting regulatory compliance in the market.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:CKN) stock is a Buy with a £4279.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Clarkson stock, see the GB:CKN Stock Forecast page.