Stellantis’ adjusted operating income jumps 184% to €256 million in third quarter
Key Facts
Results published on October 28 showed an operating improvement, but net revenues rose just 1% to €37.611 billion from €37.206 billion. The company also posted a net loss of €453 million, compared with a loss of €4.532 billion a year earlier, and said the prior-year period was affected by large items. Adjusted operating income margin was 0.7%, up from 0.2%, an increase of 50 basis points. Stellantis said its value-creation program had begun making positive contributions, while Reuters reported that cost cuts helped improve operating income.
Shipments did not keep pace with the improvement in operating income: consolidated shipments fell 1% to 1.286 million vehicles from 1.300 million a year earlier. Revenue performance varied across regions, rising 3% in Enlarged Europe and 3% in South America. By contrast, revenue fell 3% in North America, the company’s largest market, and 19% in the Middle East and Africa. It also declined 7% in the Asia-Pacific region. The divergence showed limited growth in total revenue despite the improvement in adjusted operating income.
Industrial free cash flow remained negative at €4.009 billion in the third quarter, but improved by about €295 million from negative €4.304 billion a year earlier, or 7%, according to company data. Available industrial liquidity stood at €42.7 billion, equivalent to 26% of revenue for the previous twelve months. Stellantis said this ratio was within its target range of 25–30% of revenue. The year-on-year improvement in cash flow came alongside continued significant outflows during the quarter. In its guidance, the company affirmed that industrial free cash flow would improve year on year in 2026, with a shift to positive territory expected in 2027.
Chief Executive Antonio Filosa linked the cost-cutting plan to a target of €6 billion in annual efficiency savings, saying the company aims to deliver at least 40% of them by the end of 2026. The company expects fourth-quarter value-creation program savings to reach the mid-hundreds of millions of euros, roughly twice the amount achieved in the third quarter. It also said full-year net tariff costs are estimated at €1 billion, after reaching €0.6 billion through September. The company cited additional burdens expected in the fourth quarter compared with the third, due to memory chips and recall costs. These items place the cost-cutting drive alongside the cost pressures the company identified for the coming quarter.
Stellantis reaffirmed its 2026 guidance, expecting a mid-single-digit increase in net revenues and a low-single-digit adjusted operating income margin, alongside a year-on-year improvement in industrial free cash flow. The company said consolidated shipments in the fourth quarter would be higher than in the third quarter and that pricing would remain broadly stable. It also forecast a positive working-capital contribution due to fourth-quarter seasonality. In the markets, Investing.com reported that the stock was up 3.0% at €3.821 when its report was published on October 28.
After the third-quarter results, attention turns to delivering efficiency savings and improving cash flows through the rest of the year, in line with the targets the company announced. Stellantis set December 10 in Modena, Italy, for its FaSTLAne 2030 / Maserati Day event. Reuters reported that the company would announce a new business plan for the Maserati brand that day. The upcoming date puts the brand’s strategy among the announced events following the reaffirmation of 2026 guidance. The full-year financial outlook remains tied to the mid-single-digit revenue increase and low-single-digit margin reaffirmed by the company.