NEW YORK, May 21, 2026, 04:17 EDT
- SBLK closed at $26.69 on Wednesday, up 2.34%, and was quoted at $26.70 in early pre-market trade.
- Star Bulk reported first-quarter net profit of $58.5 million and declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend.
- The dry-bulk group’s earnings land as Diana Shipping presses its offer for peer Genco, a deal tied to a conditional Star Bulk vessel purchase.
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. shares held near Wednesday’s gain in early U.S. pre-market trade after the dry-bulk shipper reported a sharp first-quarter profit rebound and a higher quarterly dividend. The Nasdaq-listed stock closed at $26.69, up 2.34%, and was quoted at $26.70 before regular trading opened.
The move matters now because the earnings put hard numbers behind Star Bulk’s full-payout dividend policy, a draw for investors in a shipping segment where cash flow can swing with freight rates. Dry bulk means unpackaged cargo such as iron ore, grain and minerals; Star Bulk uses time-charter equivalent, or TCE, as a measure of average daily net revenue after voyage costs.
Star Bulk reported net income of $58.5 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, compared with $0.5 million a year earlier. Voyage revenue rose to $281.2 million from $230.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose to $114.3 million from $49.0 million. EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a common cash-flow proxy in capital-heavy industries.
The board declared a dividend of 50 cents a share, payable around June 22 to shareholders of record on June 12. That compared with 5 cents for the year-earlier period, and came as TCE rose to $18,493 per vessel per day from $12,439.
Chief Executive Petros Pappas said the dry-bulk market opened 2026 with “counterseasonal strength” and described Star Bulk as having “one of the lowest cost structures” in the sector. He also said the company was targeting “more than $3 per share” in shareholder returns this year under the current forward freight agreement curve; FFAs are contracts used to hedge expected freight rates.
The company also pushed ahead with its fleet reset. It completed the sales of the Star Scarlett and Star Mariella in April and May, collecting about $46.4 million, and said eight Kamsarmax newbuildings remain under construction, with two expected by the end of May, three in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter.
Star Bulk’s results came against a busier backdrop for dry-bulk consolidation. Diana Shipping released a presentation on Tuesday pressing its $23.50-a-share cash offer for Genco Shipping & Trading and said it had a definitive agreement for Star Bulk to acquire 16 Genco vessels for $470.5 million if Diana completes the deal.
Star Bulk had announced that conditional vessel purchase in March, saying the ships would add 1.8 million deadweight tons of carrying capacity and would be financed with cash from prior vessel sales and new debt. The company said at the time that a successful deal would lift its fleet to 157 ships on a fully delivered basis.
The risk is that the dividend is only as strong as the freight cycle behind it. Vessel operating costs rose on a daily adjusted basis, the company posted a $2.9 million net loss on FFAs and bunker swaps, and a weaker freight market would feed through quickly to TCE and cash available for payout.
Investors will get another read later in the morning. Star Bulk’s management is scheduled to discuss the results on a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.
