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what it is
SFL owns ships and offshore rigs, then rents them out on long contracts to collect cash.
how it gets paid
Last year Sfl made $904M in revenue. Container vessels was the main engine at $397.8M, or 44% of sales.
what just happened
Latest quarter revenue was $379M, down 10% vs. prior year, while earnings stayed weak.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
15/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
22.5x trailing p/e — priced about right
8.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
9.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 43/100 — below average
What they do
SFL owns ships and offshore rigs, then rents them out on long contracts to collect cash.
Fixed-rate charters → customers pay preset rates for years → your cash flow swings less. That shows up in a 33.9% operating margin on $904 million of revenue. SFL also spreads risk across 75 assets, so one weak market hurts you less than a one-fleet operator.
How they make money
$904M
annual revenue
Container vessels
$397.8M
10.0%
Dry bulk carriers
$180.8M
10.0%
Tanker fleet
$216.9M
10.0%
Car carriers
$84.4M
10.0%
Offshore drilling
$24.1M
50.0%
The products that matter
leases and operates vessels
vessel and offshore asset fleet
$904M revenue · 100% of revenue
this is the whole business: $904M in annual revenue, up 4.2% last period. when charter coverage holds up, the dividend pitch works. when it does not, there is nowhere else to hide.
100% of revenue
Key numbers
8.9%
dividend yield
You are paid 8.9% a year to hold the stock, which is the main reason to own a name with a flat $9 target.
$1.9B
long-term debt
Debt is larger than the company's roughly $1 billion market value, which tells you leverage is part of the business model, not a side note.
33.9%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: the charter model still throws off solid cash despite a weak year.
75
operating assets
A 75-asset fleet spreads charter risk across containers, bulk, tankers, car carriers, and drilling instead of betting on one lane.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 65 / 100
- long-term debt $1.9B (62% of capital)
- net profit margin 16.2% — keeps 16 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 16% — $0.16 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B — net profit margin looks solid but long-term debt needs watching.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in SFL 3 years ago → it's now worth $11,870.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Latest quarter revenue was $379M, down 10% vs. prior year, while earnings stayed weak.
Latest quarterly EPS was -$0.23 vs. prior year on EDGAR data, but the last reported earnings release showed $0.05 versus a -$0.03 estimate. The business is still fighting weaker utilization and tariff-related pressure.
$379M
revenue
-$0.23
eps
33.9%
operating margin
the number that mattered
The key number is the 10% revenue drop, because this stock needs steady charter cash more than it needs accounting surprises.
-
sfl corp. likely finished 2025 with a challenging fourth quarter.
-
the maritime infrastructure company's top- and bottom-lines likely continued to decline amid geopolitical and tariff-related volatility.
-
for the year as a whole, we think revenues contracted roughly 20% vs. prior year, while the bottom line likely slipped into negative territory with our forecast of a small loss of $0.15.
-
the company's energy assets are at 50% utilization, as the hercules drilling rig has been idle in norway since late 2024.
-
this resulted in steep revenue declines and higher expenses.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the core risk is simple: SFL needs its assets contracted, its payout credible, and its debt load manageable at the same time.
high
charter-rate and utilization risk
all $904M of revenue comes from vessels and offshore assets staying contracted at workable economics. if charter rates soften or assets sit idle, pressure hits the whole company at once.
direct exposure: 100% of the $904M revenue base
high
debt and refinancing risk
SFL carries $1.9B in long-term debt, equal to 62% of capital. that is workable when cash flow is steady and much less friendly when shipping markets weaken or funding costs rise.
balance-sheet exposure: $1.9B of long-term debt
med
dividend credibility risk
an 8.9% yield gets attention because it is large. it also gets questioned when full-year EPS lands at -$0.15 after being $1.01 the prior year. if profits stay weak, the payout story gets a lot harder to defend.
income exposure: the 8.9% yield is the stock’s main draw
med
low-visibility earnings risk
earnings predictability is 15/100, and the latest quarterly revenue line is n/a in this dataset. that combination makes it harder for you to separate a temporary wobble from a deeper earnings problem.
visibility exposure: 15/100 predictability with missing quarterly revenue detail
here’s what would change our mind: full-year EPS gets back above zero, quarterly revenue comes through cleanly instead of n/a, and the debt load stops looking like the first thing that could break the equity case.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
watch whether EPS gets back above zero and stays there
the last full year ended at -$0.15 EPS. if profits do not normalize, the yield story gets much less comfortable.
risk
monitor the debt load against the cycle
$1.9B of long-term debt is manageable when charter cash flow holds up. it becomes the number that matters most when shipping conditions soften.
calendar
the next earnings report needs cleaner revenue disclosure
quarterly revenue shows as n/a in this dataset. you want the next update to fill that gap so the operating picture is easier to trust.
trend
treat institutional buying as mild, not decisive
83 buyers versus 82 sellers counts as net buying. it does not count as broad conviction.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4. in human-speak, analysts think the stock is more likely to lag than lead from here.
risk profile
average
stability score 3. that means middle-of-the-road share-price risk — not a bunker stock and not a pure rollercoaster.
chart momentum
bottom 5%
technical score 5 is the weakest rating. the chart is telling you investors have not been in a forgiving mood.
earnings predictability
15 / 100
earnings predictability at 15/100 means profits are hard to model. if you want cleaner quarterly consistency, this is not that stock.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 83 buyers vs. 82 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 44.6M shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$6
$11
$9
current price
$9
target midpoint · 0% from current · 3-5yr high: $11 (+20% · 12% ann'l return)
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