Stellantis Reports Q4 Sales Decline Amid Inventory Cuts

Stellantis sees a 5% drop in underlying sales for Q4. Despite this, the company experienced sequential improvement over the previous quarter. Investors should note potential impacts on stock prices due to these mixed results.

Date: 16-01-2025

AI Rating: 5

Earnings Overview
Stellantis N.V. (STLA) reported a decline in underlying sales for the fourth quarter by approximately 5%. The fall in consolidated shipments reached 9% year-over-year, totaling an estimated 1,395 thousand units.

Sequential Improvement
Despite the declines, the results indicated improvement compared to the previous quarter, where consolidated shipments had dropped by a significant 20%. This sequential improvement could signal stabilization, which might assuage some investor concerns.

Regional Breakdown
In North America, shipments experienced a drastic 28% decrease while sales only fell by 5%. This discrepancy suggests that the inventory reduction efforts are deeply impacting shipment numbers. In Europe, shipments saw a decline of 6%, but the introduction of next-generation products seemed to mitigate some of the adverse effects by supporting shipments in a challenging environment.

In the emerging markets within Stellantis’ portfolio, there is a mixed performance; shipments grew by 5% in Stellantis Third Engine, propelled mainly by a notable 12% increase in South America. However, declines in China and India & Asia Pacific counterbalanced these gains.

Overall, the reported declines in sales and shipments present a cautiously negative outlook for Stellantis. While certain strategic initiatives have yielded sequential improvements, the overarching trends in sales and shipments, particularly in key markets like North America, raise concerns that could impact stock prices moving forward.

Stocks: STLA