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Stellantis has outlook beyond expectations this year as it sank into a net loss late last year, with the world’s fourth-largest automaker experiencing a decline in sales in key markets.
Owners of the Peugeot, Fiat and Jeep brands reported a net loss of 127 million euros over that period, compared to a profit of 7.7 billion euros the previous year. Revenue fell 21% to 71.9 billion euros.
The company is navigating a period of rapid upheaval after CEO Carlos Tavares suddenly set off in December after a sudden degradation in financial performance.
On Wednesday, it pledged to return to positive cash flow and revenue growth under the new leadership team, but released forecasts that are weaker than expected this year.
Since Tavares left in December, the group has been cutting US inventory and tense with governments, dealers and suppliers under a temporary leadership team led by Agneli family Scion John Elkan. We strengthened our efforts to repair the relationship.
“As 2025 progresses, we are gaining market share and we are focusing on improving our financial performance,” Elkan said Wednesday.
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Stellantis said the launch of 10 new models and a more flexible product portfolio will help return to revenue growth and provide a “mid-single digit” adjusted operating profit margin in 2025.
The forecast was slightly below the analyst estimates compiled by the data provider Visible Alpha with a margin of over 6%. That margin was 5.5% last year, well below forecasts of double-digit growth in 2024.
Stellantis shares fell nearly 6% before resolving some losses in early trading on Wednesday.
Tom Narayan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said the operating margin guidance for 2025 is “touch light.” “The outlook creates room for a reset of expectations that can often come to new management teams,” he added.
Stellantis has confirmed that he will select a new CEO in the first half of 2025 and will be tasked with continuing the turnaround that Elkann has launched.
The outlook for that forecast was also clouded by the uncertainty brought about by the wide range of tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump.
Last month, Elkan outlined more than $5 billion in US investment in an overture to Trump. However, the automaker has 40% of vehicles sold in the US, manufactured in Canada and Mexico, and is one of the most exposed to tariffs from its closest neighbors in the US.
Separately, Aston Martin announced Wednesday that it will cut 5% (170 employees) of the global workforce as part of its cost-cutting drive under new CEO Adrian Hallmark. I did.
The company also plans to launch its first electric vehicle in the second half of the decade rather than 2026, adding that it will focus on plug-in hybrid technology due to unstable market conditions.
As Hallmark took over as CEO in September, he brings more predictability and stability to the group’s financial performance, beating analysts’ expectations with £2 million cash flow in the fourth quarter. I did.
