Kirby Corporation

Kirby Corporation reported 7.8% second-quarter revenue growth to $922.4 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $863 million by 6.9%, but flat earnings of $1.67 per share missed estimates by 1.8%. Marine transportation revenues rose 9% to $537 million, yet operating income fell 11% to $87.8 million, with margins dropping to 16.4% from 20.1% due to higher fuel costs and planned shipyard activity. Management expects cost escalators and rate-recovery mechanisms to reverse the fuel-related margin headwind in the third quarter, and maintains full-year earnings growth guidance of 5%-15%, trending toward the upper end. Distribution and services revenues increased 6% to $385.4 million, with power generation revenues up 8% and operating income climbing 27%, providing a partial offset. The company's inland marine segment, representing 80% of marine transportation revenues, saw spot rates rise in the low-to-mid-single-digit range sequentially, and full-year inland operating margin is expected in the high-teens to low-20% range.

President Trump declared the U.S. would act as the 'Guardian of the Hormuz Strait' and charge a 20% fee on all transiting cargo to cover security costs, prompting the International Maritime Organization to state there is no legal basis for mandatory tolls to transit a strait. The announcement follows escalating clashes in which Iran has targeted commercial vessels and vowed to impose its own fees for passage, while the U.S. has conducted airstrikes against Iranian installations. The IMO, the U.N. body overseeing global shipping safety, clarified that freedom of navigation is guaranteed under customary international law, which the U.S. has historically recognized. The proposed fee marks a shift toward transactional foreign policy, raising concerns that allies may seek alternative security arrangements and that other powers could assert similar claims in contested waterways.