Global Ship Lease, Inc., an owner of containerships, announced its unaudited results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2026.
Third Quarter of 2026 and Year to Date Highlights and Other Recent Developments
– 3Q 2026 operating revenue of $201.4 million. 9M 2026 operating revenue of $598.1 million.
– 3Q 2026 net income available to common shareholders of $99.2 million, or $2.75 Earnings per Share (“EPS”). 9M 2026 net income available to common shareholders of $279.9 million, or $7.77 EPS.
– 3Q 2026 normalized net income (a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure, described below)3 of $99.3 million, or $2.75 normalized EPS³. 9M 2026 normalized net income of $280.6 million, or $7.79 normalized EPS.
– 3Q 2026 Adjusted EBITDA (a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure, described below)3 of $138.8 million. 9M 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $403.4 million.
– In October 2026, we agreed a $1.0 billion syndicated loan facility (the “New Facility”) bearing an interest rate of SOFR + 1.5% and a duration of seven years, to finance 15 of our newbuildings. We intend to draw on the New Facility in tranches corresponding to the respective deliveries of the 15 newbuildings. The eight-member syndicate is comprised of Bank of America as Bookrunner, Mandated Lead Arranger, Facility Agent and Security Agent, with ABN-AMRO, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and KFW IPEX as Mandated Lead Arrangers, CaixaBank and CTBC served as Lead Arrangers, with BOCOM (Hong Kong) and First Citizens Bank as Arrangers.
– In October 2026, we announced that, subject to certain conditions precedent being met, we had exercised options to build two mid-size, ultra-high-reefer, wide-beam, latest generation containerships for an aggregate contract price of $163.0 million, scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2029. We are in discussions with prospective charterers and lenders to secure employment and financing of the vessels upon delivery from the shipyard.
– In June 2026, we announced that we agreed individual newbuilding contracts for 15 mid-size, ultra-high-reefer, wide-beam, latest-generation containerships for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.3 billion. These highly flexible ships have been designed and specified to ensure a superior fit for existing and future market needs, with deliveries scheduled to take place between the fourth quarter of 2028 and the first quarter of 2030. Upon delivery from the respective shipyards, the newbuildings are contracted to commence employment on multi-year charters, with an average TEU-weighted firm charter term of 7.1 years and at rates expected to generate more than $1.0 billion of aggregate Adjusted EBITDA. These 15 newbuildings are expected to be financed with a combination of cash from our balance sheet and the New Facility.
– Added $1.82 billion of contracted revenue during 9M 2026 from new charters and extensions on our existing fleet and initial firm charters for 15 of our newbuildings, bringing total contracted revenue as of September 30, 2026 to $3.4 billion, over a TEU-weighted average remaining duration (assuming median firm charter periods) of 3.5 years.
– Declared a dividend of $0.6875 per Class A common share for the third quarter of 2026, to be paid on December 3, 2026 to Class A common shareholders of record as of November 20, 2026 (the “Third Quarter Dividend”). The Board of Directors determined that sustained market demand for GSL’s fleet and our success with securing forward fixtures at attractive levels supports a 25.0% ($0.0625 per share) increase in our quarterly supplemental dividend, bringing our total annualized dividends per share to $2.75 ($0.6875 per quarter), commencing with, and reflected in, the Third Quarter Dividend. Paid a dividend of $0.625 per Class A common share for the second quarter of 2026 on September 3, 2026.
– On June 16, 2026, announced updates by two leading credit rating agencies. Moody’s Investor Service maintained our Ba2 Corporate Family Rating and upgraded to a positive outlook from a stable outlook. Kroll Bond Rating Agency maintained our corporate credit rating at BB+, with a stable outlook, while also affirming the BBB/stable investment grade rating and stable outlook for our 5.69% Senior Secured Notes due July 15, 2027 (the “2027 Secured Notes”). In addition, on July 7, 2026, S&P Global issued a press release maintaining our Issuer Credit Rating for GSL of BB+, with a stable outlook.
– During April and May of 2026, we entered into agreements for the forward sales of four non-core ships, built 2000 – 2002, for an aggregate price of $65.5 million and an anticipated gain on sale of approximately $33.0 million. Three out of the four ships are scheduled to be delivered to the buyers upon expiry of the vessels’ respective charters: Kumasi and Julie (2,200 TEU, 2002-built) in the first quarter of 2027 and the third quarter of 2027, respectively, and Ian H (5,900 TEU, 2000-built) in the fourth quarter of 2027. On November 4, 2026, Manet (2,200 TEU, 2001-built) was delivered to the buyers. The vessel’s sale price was $13.5 million and the net gain from the sale of vessel was approximately $5.7 million.
– On December 1, 2025, we announced the purchase of three 8,586 TEU Korean-built containerships with ECO upgrades (the “Three Newly Acquired Vessels”) for an aggregate purchase price of $90.0 million. Two of the vessels were delivered to us in December 2025 and the third was delivered to us in January 2026. In June 2026, we entered into a loan agreement with Bank of America for $55.5 million to finance these acquisitions. The loan bears interest at SOFR + 1.40% and has a maturity of five years.
George Youroukos, our Executive Chairman, stated: “Amid continued market and geopolitical volatility throughout the third quarter of 2026, GSL once again benefitted from our focus on maximizing optionality and providing our customers with highly flexible tonnage. With the continuing fragmentation and decentralization of container supply chains liner service networks are being constantly reshaped, meaning that flexibility and agility are increasingly valuable qualities. At the same time, a combination of port congestion, extreme weather events, and freight flow imbalances weighted towards the head-haul trades, has meant that demand for containership capacity has grown even faster than underlying container volume growth. By remaining focused on being responsive, disciplined, and well-positioned to provide our liner customers with the highly specified, mission-critical, mid-sized and smaller containerships that they need to adapt in a dynamic and unpredictable trade environment, we have built a contracted revenue backlog of $3.4 billion over an average of 3.5 years, with 100% coverage for 2026, 98% coverage for 2027 and 74% for 2028. As a result, we are very pleased to further upsize our supplemental dividend by 25%, bringing our overall annualized dividend to $2.75 per common share.
With the disciplined, selective renewal of our fleet as a longstanding priority, and aided by our fortress balance sheet, we have expanded our orderbook of mid-size, ultra-high-reefer, wide beam, latest generation containerships to 17 vessels delivering between late 2028 and early 2030. We have already secured long-term employment for 15 of these ships, together with highly attractive financing. We are confident that these state-of-the-art containerships, which are core assets for the future of the Company, are now materially de-risked and will serve as long-term industry workhorses, providing significant future value and cashflow to GSL.”
Thomas Lister, our Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Optionality, prudence, and discipline continue to be foundational to how we operate. Our capacity to secure an oversubscribed, competitively priced, $1 billion syndicated loan facility comprising eight top-tier banks from around the world comes on the back of our fortress balance sheet and strong relationships throughout the global banking sector. From this enhanced financial footing, and having added over $1.8 billion of contracted revenue during the first nine months of this year, we are pleased to once again increase our quarterly dividend, starting with that to be paid for the third quarter of 2026, to $0.6875 per common share – which amounts to $2.75 on an annualized basis. Through a combination of chartering, fleet renewal, balance sheet optimization, and our upsized quarterly dividend, GSL is positioned to continue to deliver significant value to our shareholders while managing the risks and capitalizing on the opportunities of this cyclical industry and unpredictable macro environment.”