Start here if you're new
what it is
Star Bulk gets paid to move iron ore, coal, and grain across oceans on 156 dry-bulk vessels.
how it gets paid
Last year Star Bulk Carriers made $1.3B in revenue. Panamax class was the main engine at $0.43B, or 33% of sales.
what just happened
Star Bulk posted $0.65 EPS in its latest quarter, beating the $0.30 estimate by 116.7%.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
21.0x trailing p/e — priced about right
0.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
9.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 52/100 — below average
What they do
Star Bulk gets paid to move iron ore, coal, and grain across oceans on 156 dry-bulk vessels.
Scale is the edge. Star Bulk has 156 vessels and 15.0 million deadweight tons, which gives you more cargo capacity than smaller dry-bulk peers can match with fewer ships. Deadweight tonnage → how much cargo a ship can carry → so what: more capacity lets Star Bulk spread costs across more voyages, and its 30.3% operating margin shows that scale still turns into money.
How they make money
$1.3B
annual revenue
Capesize class
$0.28B
Panamax class
$0.43B
Ultramax class
$0.40B
Supramax class
$0.19B
The products that matter
moves iron ore, coal, and grain
Dry Bulk Shipping
$1.3B · 100% of revenue
it's the entire $1.3B business. that focus keeps the story easy to follow and the earnings hard to smooth out.
the whole company
Key numbers
30.3%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: Star Bulk still keeps about $0.30 of every revenue dollar before interest and taxes.
$868M
long-term debt
That is the fixed weight on the balance sheet. In a freight downturn, debt does not take a vacation.
21.0x
trailing p/e
P/E → stock price divided by past earnings → so what: you are paying 21 times depressed trailing profits for a very cyclical business.
0.9%
dividend yield
That yield is small for a shipping name, which tells you this is more rate-recovery trade than income stock right now.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $868M (25% of capital)
- net profit margin 24.0% — keeps 24 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 10% — $0.10 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in SBLK 3 years ago → it's now worth $12,870.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Star Bulk posted $0.65 EPS in its latest quarter, beating the $0.30 estimate by 116.7%.
Quarterly revenue was $300.59 million and net income was $65.2 million in Q4 2025, according to the company's earnings release cited in recent coverage. The beat matters because full-year 2025 EPS still fell to $1.10 from $2.80 in 2024, so one strong quarter does not erase a weak freight market.
$300.59M
revenue
$0.65
eps
30.3%
operating margin
the number that mattered
The key number was the 116.7% EPS beat versus estimates, because shipping stocks live and die by how fast rates move versus expectations.
-
star bulk carriers was on track for weak operating results in the year just ended. (the seaborne shipping company is scheduled to release 2025 fourth-quarter financials on february 25th.) revenues were under pressure during the first nine months, with the top line down 22% from the same span in 2024.
-
lower time charter equivalent (tce) rates and soft market conditions were the primary reasons.adjusted earnings plunged to an aggregate of $0.33 per share in the first three quarters of 2025, versus $2.32 in the like-2024 period, due to significant margin compression. (our earnings presentation is on a non-gaap basis starting in 2025.) for full-year 2025, the top and bottom lines likely came in at $1.01 billion and $1.10 per share, respectively.
-
industry fundamentals have been less than ideal, but demand may rebound some in the next two years.
-
during the first three quarters of 2025, star bulk's daily tce rate dropped 26% from the comparable 2024 period, to $14,190; the daily opex (operating expense) per vessel, as adjusted, declined 3%, to $4,972; and the average number of vessels in the fleet increased 4%, to 146.5 units.management cited the impact of geopolitical tensions on the dry bulk market, most the ongoing tug-of-war between the united states and china on tariffs and trade.
-
finances are adequate.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk is a drop in dry-bulk freight rates. this is one business with one main revenue engine.
med
freight-rate volatility
All $1.3B of revenue comes from dry bulk shipping. If charter rates weaken, revenue and earnings do not have another segment to hide in.
24.0% net margin looks strong now. In a weaker rate market, that cushion shrinks fast.
med
debt magnifies a downturn
Long-term debt sits at $868M, or 25% of capital. That's manageable in good freight markets and less comfortable in bad ones.
If earnings keep falling from the $1.10 full-year base, leverage stops looking moderate and starts looking heavy.
med
earnings are hard to model
Predictability is 25/100. That's the data telling you this stock does not reward clean spreadsheets.
When earnings are this variable, a 21.0x trailing p/e gives less comfort than it would for a steadier business.
med
institutions are still stepping back
Institutions were net sellers for three straight quarters, with 65 buyers versus 81 sellers in 3q2025.
That does not decide the thesis by itself, but it tells you large holders have not rushed in to underwrite the recovery story.
100% of revenue rides on dry-bulk demand, and the company carries $868M in long-term debt. If rates soften again, the hit lands on both earnings power and balance-sheet comfort.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
the gap between $1.3B and $1B
Last reported annual revenue is $1.3B. The fy2026 estimate is $1B. If that gap does not close, the rebound case stays thin.
risk
whether margin stays above 24%
A 24.0% net margin is doing a lot of work in this story. If rates slip, this is one of the first numbers that tells you.
earnings
the next quarterly EPS print
The last quarterly figure was $0.77. You want to see whether that supports the $2.40 full-year estimate or makes it look generous.
trend
institutional selling pressure
Three straight quarters of net selling is the trend. If that flips, sentiment is changing. If it doesn't, you know who is still skeptical.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts see a stock behaving like the market, not breaking away from it.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — the balance sheet is workable, but the business itself is cyclical.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — no strong signal, no collapse, no breakout.
earnings predictability
25 / 100
the ranking says what the income statement already did: you should expect uneven results.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 3 consecutive quarters — 65 buyers vs. 81 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 32.9M shares. net selling for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$12
$28
$23
current price
$20
target midpoint · 13% from current · 3-5yr high: $45 (+95% · 19% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive