Mercedes-Benz stock fell in overseas trading after the German auto maker reported better-than-expected earnings but gave an outlook that doesn’t inspire the passion drivers might feel for a 300 SLR sports car. Thursday, the company announced fourth-quarter earnings per share of $2.68 from sales of about $40 billion. Wall Street was looking for about $2.60 and just under $40 billion respectively. Mercedes shares were down 1.6% in overseas trading at €60.22 ($62.93).
Management’s forecasts help to explain why. Mercedes sees sales falling slightly from the 1.98 million vehicles delivered in 2024. Operating profit margins are expected to dip from about 8% to roughly 7%. Those numbers are a little worse than Wall Street is currently projecting, according to FactSet. Electric-vehicle sales, including both all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, should amount to about 21% of total vehicle sales, up from 19% in 2024.
That implies EV unit sales growth of about 3%. Mercedes sold about 368,000 electrified cars in 2024, down about 8% from 2023. All-electric sales came in at 185,000 units, down 23%. It was a tough year for battery-powered cars in Europe. All-electric sales came in just under two million vehicles, down 1% year over year. Plug-in hybrid sales came in just under one million vehicles, down about 4%. All-electric car sales fared better in the U.S., but growth decelerated.
Americans bought about 1.3 million all-electric cars in 2024, up about 7% year over year. EV sales growth in 2023, however, was 46%. Mercedes’s guidance shows that an EV snapback isn’t in the cards for 2025. That is a watch item for investors in Ford Motor, General Motors, and Tesla. Ford and GM lose billions annually selling EVs. Both are trying to shrink losses, and the Mercedes guidance indicates they won’t have strong sales to help.
Tesla is profitable and is expected to grow. Wall Street projects about two million car sales in 2025, up from 1.8 million in 2024. Tesla’s sales fell about 1% year over year in 2024, its first annual decline since it launched the Model S luxury sedan in 2012. Ford, GM, and Tesla shares weren’t reacting much to the Mercedes earnings in early trading Thursday.
All the premarket moves were less than 1%, up or down. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down about 0.3%.
