| Thanks for reading Hyperdrive, Bloomberg's newsletter on the future of the auto world. When was the last time you heard a chief executive talk about the state of their sector like this? "The auto industry is in turmoil," Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said to begin his interview Thursday with Bloomberg Television. "Looking at the results, everybody is going in the same direction." That direction is, indeed, almost universally down. Consider these four major carmakers that have reported earnings in roughly the last 24 hours: - Renault posted a 35% decline in net income for the first half of the year, sending its stock plunging the most intraday in almost 2 ½ years.
- Ford — which many investors believed would beat analyst estimates, raise guidance and return more cash to capital — went 0-for-3 on those expectations. The shares plummeted as much as 18%.
- Nissan reported a surprise drop in quarterly profit, missing the lowest analyst estimate, and slashed its forecast for operating profit this year. Its stock fell to a 15-month low.
- Stellantis trailed expectations for net income (down 48% from a year ago), industrial free cash flow (negative €392 million; the average estimate was for positive €1.78 billion) and net revenue (down 14%). Its shares dropped the most intraday in Paris since the company's early 2021 formation.
Hats off to Hyundai for the narrative violation. Operating profit for the three months that ended in June was 4.3 trillion won ($3 billion), narrowly beating estimates on the back of strong hybrid vehicle sales. These results follow another disappointing showing from Tesla, and a beat-and-raise by General Motors that wasn't enough to spare its shares from falling 6.4%, the stock's worst day since December 2022. Porsche also cut its outlook for the year and took its biggest intraday drubbing since its September 2022 initial public offering. So… it's been a brutal week. What's it all mean for the future of the industry? Renault CEO Luca de Meo drew a distinction between his company's plans and his competitors', saying the French automaker won't pull back on EVs. That said, the president of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association told Les Echos that Brussels will need to budge on its goal for all new vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2035. "We need more flexibility in the schedule," de Meo told the newspaper in an interview published this week. Elon Musk may or may not speak for the car industry — Tesla is an artificial intelligence company now, after all — but he too has sounded bleak lately about the state of affairs. After one of his followers posted a clip of former president Donald Trump vowing last week to save the US auto industry "from complete obliteration," Musk replied fatalistically: "Obliteration is coming anyway."  Rows of tires on the production line at the Michelin Gravanche manufacturing plant in Clermont Ferrand, France. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg Hyperdrive would be remiss if we didn't also mention the pain trickling down through the automotive supply chain: - Michelin said Europe's "difficult economic situation" is causing a drop in tire demand and flagged potential for further factory closures.
- STMicroelectronics cut its annual revenue outlook for the second consecutive quarter, citing lower sales to carmakers.
- Renesas Electronics shares plunged the most intraday in more than 12 years, after the chip supplier to Toyota and Honda posted profit that missed estimates.
- LG Energy Solution slashed its annual sales target as the South Korean battery maker grapples with slowing demand for electric vehicles.
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment