Autoliv Reports $2,693 Million in Sales as Third-Quarter Profit Declines
Key Facts
Autoliv said on October 23 that net sales totaled $2,693 million in the third quarter of 2026, down 0.5% from the same period a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $2.13, a year-on-year decline of 6.8%. Sales and earnings came in below the average estimates the company published before the results. Operating income also fell to $254 million from $267 million a year earlier, which the company attributed mainly to compensation from a supplier settlement recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The figures put cost pressures and weaker activity at the center of the results, as the company kept its annual organic sales growth forecast near zero and lowered its operating margin outlook.
On an organic basis, sales fell 1.1%, while global light vehicle production declined 1.9% during the quarter. Autoliv said its performance exceeded the decline in global production by 0.8 percentage points, attributing this mainly to strong performance in Asia. The gap indicates that weaker market conditions were not fully reflected in the company’s sales, despite a contraction from a year earlier. But organic sales outperforming global production did not prevent declines in total revenue or earnings per share. The comparison remains an indicator of the company’s ability to maintain its relative market share in a weaker production environment.
Chief Executive Mikael Bratt said the company’s sales in India grew nearly 30%, while sales to Chinese automakers increased by more than 20%. Growth in Japan also helped Autoliv’s sales in Asia exceed its sales in China during the quarter. These regional results show that Asia provided important support at a time when global vehicle production was falling. However, this growth was not enough to offset the pressures that kept net sales below their year-earlier level. Bratt said: "Our sales in India grew nearly 30%, and our sales to Chinese automakers grew by more than 20%."
On profitability, the operating margin was 9.4%, compared with 9.9% in the third quarter of 2025, while the adjusted margin was 9.7%, compared with 10.0%. Operating cash flow fell to $239 million from $258 million, while operating free cash flow declined to $124 million from $153 million. The company said higher raw material and logistics costs, recent flooding in Thailand, and lower customer order accuracy since the first quarter added to pressures during the year. It added that labor efficiency, material savings and negotiations helped offset most of these costs. Still, Autoliv cut its adjusted operating margin outlook for the year to about 10.5%, while keeping its organic sales growth forecast at about 0%.
Autoliv expects operating cash flow of around $1.2 billion in 2026. In China, the company opened its second research and development center during the third quarter, while Bratt said the business environment remained uncertain. He added that the company expects a strong fourth quarter, supported by increased product launches and large raw material cost recoveries. These factors provide context for the company’s outlook for the coming period, alongside analyst estimates published on October 19 for the fourth quarter, based on views from 20 analysts. The average estimates were $2,826 million in sales and $3.57 in earnings per share.
Autoliv is scheduled to publish its fourth-quarter 2026 results on Friday, January 29, 2027. The stock, listed in London under the ticker 0MI0.L, closed at 1159.5 on October 22, one day before the results announcement. That closing price does not establish how the stock moved in response to the figures announced the following day. The upcoming results will provide a later opportunity to assess the impact of product launches and raw material cost recoveries on operating performance. Sales, margin and cash flow indicators in that report will also provide the first subsequent quarterly reading on the company’s revised 2026 guidance.