Since its blockbuster listing in New York almost a decade ago, Ferrari has consistently delivered industry-beating profits with a market valuation of a luxury brand rather than a carmaker. Investors are now nervous that the winning streak may not last for the Italian group as it enters a new era of electric vehicles and geopolitical uncertainty.
Ferrari shares plummeted a record 15 per cent in New York on Thursday following cautious guidance that adjusted operating profit margin would remain largely flat — although at a still impressive 30 per cent — over the next five years. It also scaled back its electric vehicle ambitions, reassuring its core petrol fans that it would not force them to give up their love for Ferrari’s roaring combustion engines. Chief executive Benedetto Vigna called for “prudence” to deliver steady growth as the share plunge overshadowed its glitzy unveiling of the engineering breakthroughs behind its first electric vehicle to be delivered in 2026. “We want to make sure what we commit, we deliver,” he told hundreds of investors and journalists gathered at its new manufacturing facility in Maranello this week.
The group’s chair, John Elkann, echoed his view: “We will keep proving year after year that Ferrari is unique. We know that everything that grows must do so steadily to last.” Following the downward revision, Ferrari will now aim to make 20 per cent of its models fully electric by 2030, down from a 40 per cent goal announced three years ago. By the end of the decade, 40 per cent of its cars will still be powered by the internal combustion engine, and the rest with hybrids. Vigna said the flexibility was needed to navigate “uncertain times” of higher US tariffs and evolving emissions regulations worldwide.
Bernstein analyst Stephen Reitman said the weaker than expected guidance took “a large bite out of the Ferrari valuation that many have believed is priced for perfection”, leaving the company worth about $77bn. “The market had expected a confident story of further margin development and was instead served a thin gruel,” he added. Ferrari has been a standout jewel in the struggling luxury car industry where both Porsche and Aston Martin have issued repeated profit warnings on slower demand in China and delayed their EV launches. Before
Thursday’s drop, shares in Ferrari surged 10-fold from its $52 IPO price in 2016 to hit a record high in July. While its 2030 guidance was lower than market expectations, the company raised both its revenue and profit expectations for this year. UBS analyst Zuzanna Pusz said the bank viewed the stock slide as a “compelling buying opportunity as [Ferrari’s] unique business model remains intact”, while one European investment fund manager said investors had overreacted. Shares staged a modest recovery on Friday, rising 1.6 per cent in premarket trading. Ferrari has yet to announce the pricing of its Elettrica model, but there is increasing market scrutiny as to whether it can keep its high margins and sustain residual values as EVs join its petrol and hybrid line-up.
