(Nov 4): Ferrari NV reported robust third-quarter (3Q) earnings as higher prices and demand for customised cars helped the luxury carmaker defy concerns around US tariffs and weaker China sales.
Net revenue rose 7.4% to €1.77 billion in the three months through September from a year earlier, the Italian company said on Tuesday. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization gained 5% to €670 million. Both results were better than analysts expected.
Deliveries of models including the SF90 XX and 12 Cilindri boosted the result, Ferrari said, as well as more customers going for lucrative personalidation options. This helped offset the impact of US tariffs and a lower shipments of the US$2.3 million Daytona SP3 supercar.
Ferrari shares rose as much as 4.3% in Milan. The stock is down 15% this year.
The earnings come shortly after Ferrari shares tumbled the most since 2016, as investors baulked at cautious long-term targets presented at its capital-markets day. The company has been hit by uncertainty from tariffs in the US — its largest market — weaker demand in China and a broader luxury downturn.
Europe’s most valuable automaker, which makes all its vehicles in Italy, earlier this year raised prices in the US on some models by 10% to help it cope with President Donald Trump’s trade onslaught. But after the US tariff rate was lowered to 15% from 27.5% previously, Ferrari is reverting to a 5% price increase on those models, chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna told analysts on a call.
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Even Ferrari, usually immune to market gyrations, is prone to stumbles in the shift to electric vehicles (EVs). At last month’s investor event, the company scaled back its EV ambitions while keeping combustion engines at the core of its lineup. The manufacturer’s first fully electric model, the Elettrica, will debut next year.
Amid scepticism that drivers will want electric supercars that don’t have the noise of a combustion engine, Vigna said that several customers he met recently reacted well to the Elettrica’s unveiling. They told him that “electric cars are generally heavy as elephants and not fun to drive,” but that the company has done a good job in turning “the elephant into a horse” with paddle shifts like in its other models.
China is also proving a challenge where luxury demand has slumped, amid recent tax changes targeting high-end vehicle purchases. Third-quarter shipments to mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan declined 12%.
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Ferrari is in a transition phase as deliveries of the limited-edition Daytona SP3 near completion and newer models such as the 12 Cilindri and the F80 hybrid supercar take over. Analysts expect margins to stay lower during this period before recovering as high-priced special editions start being shipped to customers.
The company’s order book is sold out through 2027, offering rare visibility for a carmaker that trades more like a luxury brand than an automaker.
While Ferrari has kept its profitability largely intact, rivals across Europe are struggling with slowing demand. Porsche AG last month posted its first quarterly loss since going public after scaling back its electric push and taking a major hit from tariffs and weak China sales, while Audi cut its outlook amid intense competition and persistent supply-chain strains.
Uploaded by Felyx Teoh
