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Global Ship Lease
(NYSE:GSL)
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Rating:79Outperform
Price Target:
$50.00
â–²(14.65% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/24/26
The score is driven primarily by strong financial performance (exceptional margins, solid cash generation, and improved leverage) and very attractive valuation (low P/E with a high dividend). The latest earnings call supports resilience via high contracted revenue coverage and ongoing deleveraging, while the main constraint is mixed near-term technical momentum and elevated geopolitical/market uncertainty typical for shipping.
Positive Factors
High Profitability and Margins
Sustained very high margins indicate structurally strong earnings power driven by fixed-rate time charters and high operating leverage. With most incremental revenue flowing to the bottom line, durable profitability supports cash generation, dividend capacity and resilience across shipping cycles.
Negative Factors
Geopolitical and Trade-Route Disruption Risk
Persistent geopolitical disruptions force rerouting, raise voyage costs and transit times, and can structurally shift cargo flows. Over months these effects increase fuel and operational costs, strain network efficiency, and can shorten charter durations as customers seek flexibility, pressuring future earnings.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
High Profitability and Margins
Sustained very high margins indicate structurally strong earnings power driven by fixed-rate time charters and high operating leverage. With most incremental revenue flowing to the bottom line, durable profitability supports cash generation, dividend capacity and resilience across shipping cycles.
Read all positive factors
Global Ship Lease (GSL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$1.59B
Dividend Yield5.41%
Average Volume (3M)276.23K
Price to Earnings (P/E)4.2
Beta (1Y)0.93
Revenue Growth7.07%
EPS Growth-0.61%
CountryUS
Employees7
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryMarine Shipping
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)10.53
Shares Outstanding35,918,243
10 Day Avg. Volume290,859
30 Day Avg. Volume276,227
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.18
Price to Book (P/B)0.69
Price to Sales (P/S)1.63
P/FCF Ratio3.48
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)9.93
Revenue Forecast (FY)$752.55M
Global Ship Lease Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Global Ship Lease, Inc. is a company that focuses on acquiring and then leasing out a varied collection of container vessels. These ships are provided to different container shipping firms through pre-arranged, fixed-price contracts. By March 10, ...
How the Company Makes Money
GSL primarily makes money by leasing its container ships to shipping lines under time charter contracts. Under these agreements, the charterer pays a contracted daily (or periodic) hire rate for the use of the vessel over a fixed term, which drive...
Global Ship Lease Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 22, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Nov 11, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized strong financial resilience: sizable forward contracted revenues, full 2026 coverage, a near net-zero debt position, meaningful deleveraging (debt down from $950M to < $700M and leverage down from 8.4x to 0.3x), a healthy cash balance, an attractive dividend (~6% yield), and disciplined capital allocation including monetization of old assets (3 ships for $52M with an estimated $25M book gain). These positives outweigh the substantial external risks highlighted—notably geopolitical disruptions in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, the humanitarian issue of ~20,000 seafarers trapped, limited scrapping/idle capacity keeping older ships employed, and near-term market uncertainty that could shorten charter durations. Management’s strategy of patience, deleveraging and preserving dry powder positions the company to capitalize on opportunities while mitigating downside, leading to a constructive but watchful tone.Positive Updates
Strong Forward Contracted Revenues and Coverage
Contracted revenues of over $2.0 billion (management cited $2.1 billion in one place) with roughly 2.6–2.8 years of contract cover. Revenue days are 100% covered for 2026 and ~86% covered for 2027, providing strong forward visibility.
Negative Updates
Geopolitical Disruptions and Trade-Route Volatility
Significant and escalating geopolitical uncertainty: Red Sea disruptions (pre-disruption ~20% of containerized trade via Red Sea/Suez) and Strait of Hormuz constraints (previously ~3–4% of global containerized trade). Rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope absorbed roughly 10% of effective shipping capacity, fragmenting and decentralizing trade routes.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Forward Contracted Revenues and Coverage
Contracted revenues of over $2.0 billion (management cited $2.1 billion in one place) with roughly 2.6–2.8 years of contract cover. Revenue days are 100% covered for 2026 and ~86% covered for 2027, providing strong forward visibility.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
The company’s guidance emphasized maintaining optionality, resilience and disciplined capital allocation—continuing to lock in charters, delever and return capital—backed by concrete metrics: roughly $2.0–$2.1 billion of forward contracted revenues (reported as $2.1bn over 2.8 years and also as >$2bn over 2.6 years), 100% charter coverage for 2026 and ~86% for 2027, cash of $655 million (of which $156m is restricted), effectively near net‑zero debt on paper, outstanding debt down from $950m in 2022 to under $700m (targeted to be well below $600m by year‑end), financial leverage reduced from 8.4x in 2018 to 0.3x today, an annualized dividend of $2.50/share (≈6% yield at yesterday’s close), average daily breakeven of just above $9.8k per ship (with most incremental revenue flowing to the bottom line), forward sales of three oldest vessels for $52m expected to generate ~ $25m book gain with deliveries between Q4 2026–Q4 2027, order‑book/fleet ratios of 37% overall (60% for >10k TEU, ~20% for <10k TEU), and market/geo impacts such as the Red Sea historically carrying ~20% of container trade (rerouting has absorbed ~10% of effective capacity), the Strait of Hormuz previously ~3–4% of trade, and an estimated ~20,000 seafarers affected—while idle capacity and scrapping remain negligible and a modeled scrapping of 25+ year ships through 2030 would shrink the sub‑10k TEU fleet by ~3.4%.Global Ship Lease Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
86
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
78
Positive
Cash Flow
83
Very Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 770.24M | 766.45M | 705.53M | 666.72M | 604.49M | 402.52M |
| Gross Profit | 409.23M | 410.93M | 390.75M | 372.19M | 334.59M | 197.56M |
| EBITDA | 557.92M | 590.87M | 494.30M | 441.50M | 449.47M | 302.34M |
| Net Income | 386.89M | 416.45M | 353.63M | 304.50M | 292.93M | 171.50M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 2.90B | 2.86B | 2.37B | 2.17B | 2.11B | 1.99B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 549.23M | 523.50M | 167.53M | 152.64M | 128.68M | 75.18M |
| Total Debt | 652.88M | 689.14M | 684.06M | 812.43M | 968.80M | 1.25B |
| Total Liabilities | 1.02B | 1.06B | 909.76M | 987.39M | 1.14B | 1.28B |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.88B | 1.80B | 1.46B | 1.18B | 966.49M | 712.55M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 404.47M | 359.36M | 187.65M | 222.53M | 318.25M | -223.68M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 505.76M | 528.30M | 430.15M | 375.01M | 327.48M | 247.95M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -248.01M | -351.90M | -254.64M | -151.98M | -9.88M | -463.02M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -213.32M | -84.68M | -208.59M | -212.24M | -243.31M | 318.45M |
Global Ship Lease Technical Analysis
Positive
43.61
Price Trends
39.70
Positive
39.15
Positive
36.63
Positive
Market Momentum
1.28
Negative
62.10
Neutral
74.34
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For GSL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 43.61 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 42.13, above the 50-day MA of 39.70, and above the 200-day MA of 36.63, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.28 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 62.10 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 74.34 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for GSL.
Global Ship Lease Risk Analysis
Global Ship Lease disclosed 75 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Global Ship Lease 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 3 New Risks
1.
We may not achieve the intended benefits of having forum selection provisions if they are found to be unenforceable. Q4, 2023
2.
Our Fourth Amended and Restated Bylaws include forum selection provisions for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees. Q4, 2023
3.
European mandatory non-financial reporting regulations. Q4, 2023
Global Ship Lease Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
83 Outperform | $2.58B | 4.98 | 13.97% | 2.57% | 2.95% | 15.92% | |
82 Outperform | $2.30B | 6.80 | 10.71% | 0.27% | 5.87% | 8.14% | |
79 Outperform | $1.59B | 4.21 | 21.99% | 5.50% | 7.07% | -0.61% | |
72 Outperform | $3.27B | 22.81 | 5.87% | 3.66% | -11.62% | -37.75% | |
65 Neutral | $1.88B | 5.92 | 15.97% | 2.99% | -52.60% | 11.51% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
63 Neutral | $1.79B | 51.20 | 3.21% | 6.88% | -16.39% | -44.25% |
* Industrials Sector Average
GSL
Global Ship Lease
43.45
15.10
53.24%
CMRE
Costamare
15.28
4.58
42.87%
DAC
Danaos
138.72
47.43
51.95%
NMM
Navios Maritime Partners
78.31
33.53
74.88%
SFL
SFL Corporation
12.14
3.54
41.20%
SBLK
Star Bulk Carriers
28.22
9.86
53.75%
Global Ship Lease Corporate Events
Global Ship Lease Boosts Contracted Revenue and Orders $1.3 Billion in Newbuild Containerships After Strong Q2 2026
Aug 5, 2026
Global Ship Lease reported unaudited second-quarter 2026 operating revenue of $198.7 million and net income available to common shareholders of $89.3 million, or $2.48 per share, with first-half 2026 operating revenue of $396.8 million and net inc...
Global Ship Lease Finalizes Second Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation
Jul 15, 2026
Global Ship Lease, Inc., a Marshall Islands–registered container shipping lessor with executive offices in Greece, maintains a corporate framework designed to support its global maritime transportation activities. Its board can establish bra...
Global Ship Lease Expands Newbuilding Program With Five Mid-Size Containership Orders
Jun 24, 2026
Global Ship Lease announced on June 24, 2026, that it has agreed, subject to conditions precedent, to order five additional mid-size, ultra-high-reefer, wide-beam, latest-generation containerships for about $413 million, with deliveries scheduled ...
Global Ship Lease Shareholders Back Board, Audit Mandate and Charter Changes as Outlook Improves
Jun 18, 2026
Global Ship Lease, Inc. held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Athens on June 17, 2026, where investors re-elected directors Michael S. Gross, Menno van Lacum and Alain Wils to serve until the 2029 meeting. Shareholders also ratified Pric...
Global Ship Lease Declares Quarterly Dividend on Series B Preferred Shares
Jun 9, 2026
Global Ship Lease, Inc., a containership owner and lessor listed on the NYSE, reported that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on its 8.75% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares on June 8, 2026. The compa...
Global Ship Lease Orders 10 Next-Generation Containerships in $917 Million Fleet Renewal Push
Jun 5, 2026
Global Ship Lease, Inc., a NYSE-listed independent containership owner and lessor, focuses on mid-sized and smaller vessels leased on fixed-rate charters to major container liner operators. As of March 31, 2026, it managed 71 ships with a TEU-weig...
Global Ship Lease Posts Strong Q1 2026 Results, Extends Contract Cover and Sells Non-Core Ships
May 22, 2026
Global Ship Lease reported unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, posting operating revenue of $198.1 million and net income available to common shareholders of $91.4 million, or $2.54 per share. The company achieved 98.2% fleet u...
Global Ship Lease Declares $0.625 Q1 2026 Dividend on Class A Shares
May 12, 2026
Global Ship Lease, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange-listed containership owner and lessor incorporated in the Marshall Islands, operates a diversified fleet of 71 mid-sized and smaller vessels on long-term, fixed-rate charters to major liner compan...
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.