Teekay (NYSE:TK) executives highlighted strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results for Teekay Tankers, pointing to firm spot tanker markets, an ongoing fleet renewal program, and a debt-free balance sheet that management said provides significant flexibility.
Quarterly and full-year results
On the call, President and CEO Kenneth Hvid said Teekay Tankers reported GAAP net income of $120 million, or $3.47 per share, and adjusted net income of $97 million, or $2.80 per share, for the fourth quarter. For the full year, Teekay Tankers reported GAAP net income of $351 million, or $10.15 per share, and adjusted net income of $241 million, or $6.96 per share.
Management also noted vessel sale activity during 2025, including realized gains on vessel sales totaling $100 million for the year.
Fleet renewal moves and expected sale gains
Hvid said Teekay Tankers continued executing its fleet renewal strategy. In January, the company acquired three 2016-built Aframax vessels for $142 million and bareboat chartered them back to the seller on short-term contracts. The company expects to assume full commercial and technical management of those ships in the second and third quarters of 2026.
The company also sold or agreed to sell two older Suezmax vessels for gross proceeds of $73 million. In addition, Hvid said Teekay Tankers reached an agreement to sell its only VLCC for gross proceeds of $84.5 million, with delivery expected during the second quarter. The company expects to recognize total gains of approximately $45 million from these sales in the first and second quarters of 2026.
Spot market strength and early 2026 bookings
Hvid said spot tanker rates in the fourth quarter were the second highest for a fourth quarter in the last 15 years, and the market strengthened further at the start of 2026. For the first quarter to date, Teekay Tankers secured spot rates of $79,800 per day for its VLCC fleet, $56,900 per day for Suezmax, and $51,400 per day for Aframax/LR2, with approximately 78% of VLCC spot days booked and around 65% for the midsize fleet.
In discussing market drivers, management attributed fourth-quarter spot strength to a combination of fundamentals, geopolitics, and seasonality. Hvid cited global seaborne oil trade volumes near record highs due to the unwinding of OPEC+ supply cuts and rising output from non-OPEC+ producers, particularly in the Americas. He also said tighter sanctions on Russia, Iran, and Venezuela created trading inefficiencies that increased ton-mile demand and shifted volumes away from the “dark fleet” toward compliant vessels.
Management said midsize tanker rates were further supported by disruptions at the CPC terminal in the Black Sea during November 2025, which reduced crude oil exports for around two months. Hvid said that outage helped open an arbitrage to move U.S. oil to Europe, while poor weather in Europe prevented vessels in ballast from returning across the Atlantic, contributing to strong spot and lightering rates in the U.S. Gulf.
Sanctions, shifting trade flows, and Venezuela commentary
On sanctions and trade patterns, Teekay said stricter measures have made it increasingly difficult for Russia and Iran to sell oil, contributing to what management described as a more than 70% increase in sanctioned barrels at sea over the past 12 months, including barrels in transit and in floating storage.
As an example, management pointed to India’s crude imports, saying India averaged 1.6 million barrels per day of Russian crude in 2025 but had fallen to around 1 million barrels per day by January 2026. Teekay attributed the decline to sanctions on Russian oil companies and an EU ban on importing refined products made from Russian crude, with replacement barrels sourced from the Middle East and Atlantic Basin via the compliant fleet. Management also referenced a recently signed U.S.-India trade deal that it said reportedly involves India further reducing imports of Russian crude.
Teekay also discussed Venezuela, stating that flows of Venezuelan oil to China via the dark fleet averaged 550,000 barrels per day in 2025 but fell to zero following a U.S. naval blockade in December. Management said Venezuelan oil was then transported entirely by compliant tankers, with volumes in January directed mainly to the U.S. Gulf and Caribbean on Aframaxes, and early-February loadings observed for Europe on Suezmaxes. Teekay said it understood some Indian refiners had booked April deliveries using VLCCs.
Director of Research Christian Waldegrave told analysts Venezuelan crude exports averaged about 800,000 barrels per day last year, fell to about 500,000 barrels per day in December and January after the blockade as long-haul flows to China disappeared, and were tracking around 700,000 barrels per day in February. Waldegrave said exports appeared likely to return to the 800,000-barrel-per-day run rate “fairly soon,” and that there was an expectation production and exports could increase by another 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day within the year depending on how quickly investment ramps.
Waldegrave also discussed potential shifts in Canadian crude flows, saying Chinese refiners may seek replacement heavy sour crude from the Middle East or Canada, and that Teekay has seen an increasing trend of TMX exports going directly on Aframaxes to Asia.
Capital allocation, costs, and dividend items
In the Q&A, CFO Brody Speers said the newly acquired Aframaxes that were bareboat chartered back to the seller will contribute only the bareboat revenue during the charter-back period, with no OpEx, depreciation, or other P&L impacts to Teekay Tankers. Speers also said the vessels would drydock in the first half of the year while Teekay continues to receive the bareboat rate.
On corporate costs, Speers said the company’s annual G&A for the year was around $46 million, and he expects it to be about that level or “maybe a little bit lower” going forward, approximating the run rate of recent quarters. He also said first-quarter depreciation and amortization should be similar to the fourth quarter, at about $21.5 million to $22 million.
Hvid addressed questions about the cash balance and capital deployment, saying the company expects to continue renewing its fleet but noted that tanker asset values have stepped up alongside strong spot rates. He said Teekay expects to do “a couple of purchases throughout the year” and characterized a major acquisition as difficult given relative asset values, suggesting a more incremental approach of buying a few ships while selling older vessels.
Teekay Tankers declared its regular fixed dividend of $0.25 per share. When asked about the potential for a special dividend, Hvid said it is typically discussed with the board at a March board meeting, and that any specials have historically been announced in connection with the May earnings release.
About Teekay (NYSE:TK)
Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) is a global provider of marine transportation and offshore production solutions for the energy industry. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Teekay designs, owns and operates a diversified fleet of tankers and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units. The company specializes in the movement and storage of crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), offering integrated services that range from tanker transport to offshore production and marine maintenance.
Teekay’s core business is organized into three operating segments.
