BMW’s Third-Quarter Pretax Profit Falls 10.6% to €2.083 Billion
Key Facts
BMW reported results on November 4 for the period ended September 30, posting third-quarter group pretax profit of €2.083 billion, down 10.6% from the same period a year earlier. The quarterly decline puts the nine-month result on a weaker trajectory, with pretax profit totaling €6.128 billion, down 23.9% year over year. The results came as group deliveries fell and automotive margins weakened. BMW also cut its forecast for the segment’s reported annual EBIT margin, signaling that pressure will continue to weigh on reported results. The announcement came as part of a restructuring the company said it would accelerate, with an expected non-operating impact on automotive earnings in the fourth quarter.
Group revenue was €30.452 billion in the third quarter, down 5.8% from a year earlier, while the pretax margin fell to 6.8% from 7.2%. In the automotive segment, EBIT fell to €901 million, down 39.7%, while the EBIT margin narrowed to 3.4% from 5.2%. The indicators highlight a sharper decline in the segment’s operating profitability than in group revenue. BMW said lower sales volumes and intense competition across the global sector, particularly in China, weakened automotive revenue, alongside adverse currency effects. It added that lower manufacturing costs limited the decline in sales, while positive valuations of interest-rate derivatives, particularly in the first and third quarters, supported group pretax profit.
BMW Group delivered 551,075 vehicles in the third quarter, down 6.3%, including 479,294 BMW-brand cars, a decline of 6.8%. A higher share of fully electric cars in sales did not offset the drop in overall volume; those vehicles accounted for 20% of group sales, while fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles together represented 27.4%. In China, where the company cited intense competition, the industrial downturn coincided with weak official manufacturing indicators. China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 49.3 in October, down 0.8 points from the previous month, with readings of 49.8 for output and 49.4 for new orders. In services, Reuters reported that companies cut average selling prices for a second month, while input prices rose at their fastest pace in five months, driven by materials, fuel and wages.
BMW cut its forecast for the reported EBIT margin of the automotive segment in 2026 to a range of -0.5% to +0.5%, from a previous forecast of between 1% and 3%. The company maintained its forecast for a margin above 2% before restructuring and portfolio measures, distinguishing the segment’s performance before those items from the expected reported result. Free cash flow in the automotive segment was negative €566 million in the third quarter, but the company maintained its full-year forecast of more than €2.5 billion. Chief Executive Milan Nedeljković said industry developments called for “decisiveness and rapid execution,” adding that the company would intensify and accelerate structural measures. BMW said the approved measures would have a non-operating impact on automotive segment earnings in the fourth quarter.
By contrast, BMW said strong demand for Neue Klasse models prompted it to add production shifts earlier than planned. It said accelerating production allows it to begin phasing out some previous vehicle and technology generations earlier. The company is preparing to launch the iX3 LWB in China in November, with other Neue Klasse models to follow during 2027. This puts the expansion of new models alongside the lower margin forecast and faster restructuring as defining features of its plans for the coming period. The non-operating impact of portfolio and restructuring measures in the fourth quarter will also be reflected in the segment’s reported results.