(News Bulletin 247) – While Renault and Stellantis plunged last week on the stock market, BMW and Volkswagen fell this Thursday in Frankfurt. Ferrari, on the other hand, still delights the market, and raises its outlook.

The previous quarter had already been very complicated for the European automobile industry. This is still the case this time.

Stellantis saw its results collapse last week, weighed down by high inventories in North America and the decline in its market share. Its stock plunged by more than 8.7% in the process. Despite a record operating margin in the first half, Renault was also heavily punished by the market (-7.5%). Some analysts pointed out the fact that the company “only” confirmed and did not raise its objectives. Others mentioned the lowering of the outlook, the same day, of its ally Nissan, in which Renault still holds 39% of the capital.

German groups are not experiencing such a marked stock market disappointment. But their shares are still under pressure. Last week, Mercedes-Benz did not impress the market (+0.1%) after publishing results just in line with expectations, and penalized by a 9% drop in its volumes in China. The company also had to lower its annual margin forecast for its automotive business.

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German manufacturers in a bit of a tough spot

Porsche had fallen 0.2% a few days earlier following results deemed “solid” by Bernstein. But the stock had fallen 5% the day before after the group lowered its revenue and margin forecasts for 2024. This revision of outlook was due to bad weather at a supplier, causing shortages of aluminum alloy.

This Thursday, Volkswagen and BMW are not doing any better. The former lost 3.7% on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange while the latter fell by 3.5%.

Volkswagen did indeed publish results that exceeded expectations, with an operating margin of 6.6% in the second quarter, compared to 6.3% expected by the consensus, according to Stifel. But this better-than-expected performance was mainly driven by the premium brand Audi, notes Oddo BHF.

The broker notes that the “core business” activities, i.e. Seat, Skoda and the Volkswagen brand, were “weak”, with an operating result of 1.35 billion euros, or 24% less than the consensus.

“We continue to view this year as a transition year for the manufacturer with few catalysts in sight as well as persistent risks (costs, China, development of battery electric vehicles until 2025, supply chain, etc.)”, concludes Oddo BHF

For its part, BMW published “somewhat weak” accounts, Bernstein said. The Bavarian group’s revenues fell by 0.7% in the second quarter to 36.94 billion euros, 2% below expectations, according to the bank, while operating profit, at 3.87 billion euros, missed the consensus by 2%. Cash generation from the automotive sector was 42% below expectations.

“The majority of markets experienced a significant downward trend during the second quarter of the year, particularly in China and the United States,” the company explained.

“No catastrophe, but secular (structural, editor’s note) pressures remain,” concludes Oddo BHF.

Ferrari, the Hermes of the automobile

In the midst of this frankly mixed picture for European automobiles, a bright spot appears: Ferrari.

The transalpine group has once again amazed the market. Its share price rose 2.9% on Thursday on the Milan Stock Exchange after having hit a peak of +6% at the start of the afternoon.

The sports car specialist sold 3,484 cars in the second quarter. The good momentum in the United States (+13%) compensated for the weakness in the “China, Hong Kong and Taiwan” region (-18%).

Revenues ultimately came to 1.71 billion euros, up 16%, thanks in particular to customization. Ferrari generates significant revenues (and margins) by allowing its customers to customize their cars.

Operating profit increased by 17% to 511 million euros, for a corresponding margin of 29.9% compared to 29.7% a year earlier.

Revenue and operating profit exceeded expectations by 5% and 7% respectively according to Royal Bank of Canada. Net profit jumped 24% to 413 million euros. The group also raised its targets for 2024 at all levels (revenue, operating profit, earnings per share and cash generation).

Royal Bank of Canada appreciates “a solid set of results”. Bernstein for his part makes an analogy with the leather goods and saddler Hermès, a luxury group to which Ferrari is often compared for the iconic character of its brand.

These results “reinforce our assertion that there is only one Ferrari and one Hermès, sitting at the top of their respective businesses,” Bernstein said.