Adjusted operating income nearly tripled year-over-year, but analysts flagged earnings quality concerns and negative free cash flow
Shares of Stellantis $STLA dropped by as much as 10% on Thursday, a day when the automaker also disclosed €960 million in adjusted operating income for the first quarter. That marked Stellantis' return to quarterly profitability for the first time in over a year, according to CNBC. By later in the session, losses had narrowed to roughly 6%.
That figure surpassed the analyst consensus estimate of €568 million and was nearly triple the €327 million posted in the same period a year earlier.
North America was a bright spot. U.S. sales rose 4%, while Canada and Mexico grew 15% and 19%, respectively. Ram brand sales in the U.S. climbed about 20% year-over-year, the brand's strongest first quarter since 2023, the company said. Stellantis said its U.S. market share rose to 7.9%, up 80 basis points year-over-year, even as the broader U.S. industry declined 6%.
In Europe, Stellantis said its EU30 market share reached 17.5%, up 20 basis points year-over-year. The company said it maintained leadership in the EU30 light commercial vehicle segment with a 28.7% market share.
Stellantis also said it raised €5 billion through hybrid perpetual notes during the quarter and confirmed its full-year 2026 financial guidance.
The company plans to concentrate future investment on four brands — Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Fiat — under a strategic plan Filosa is set to present at an investor day in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on May 21. The automaker formed in 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA, the maker of Peugeot, and has since struggled to regain market share in the U.S. and Europe amid competition from Chinese automakers.
