Stellantis published third-quarter results on 28 October showing a net loss of EUR 453 million under IFRS, against a net loss of EUR 4.722 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. The improvement is roughly 90 per cent.
The prior-year loss was driven by major exceptional items, so the comparison flatters the current quarter as much as it reflects it.
Revenue and margin
Net revenue was EUR 37.61 billion, up 1.0 per cent. Enlarged Europe and South America each grew 3 per cent, partly offsetting a 3 per cent decline in North America.
Adjusted operating income was EUR 256 million, for an adjusted operating margin of 0.7 per cent, up 50 basis points year on year. Every region except Enlarged Europe posted a positive adjusted operating margin.
Consolidated shipments were about 1.3 million units, down 1 per cent. North America fell 12 per cent on planned plant downtime.
The cash line is the one to watch
Industrial free cash flow was negative EUR 4.01 billion for the quarter, an improvement of about EUR 300 million year on year.
Available industrial liquidity stood at EUR 42.7 billion, equal to 26 per cent of trailing twelve-month net revenue. That sits inside the company’s stated target range of 25 to 30 per cent.
Stellantis reiterated its full-year 2026 financial guidance and maintained its expectation that industrial free cash flow turns positive in 2027.
What the turnaround is actually being measured against
The comparison base is severe. In its 2025 financial year Stellantis booked roughly EUR 25.4 billion in exceptional charges tied to a product plan reset and a reduction of its electrification supply chain. The result was a full-year net loss of EUR 22.3 billion, the first annual loss since the company was formed by merger.
The third quarter of 2026 therefore does not show a company recovering. It shows a company that has stopped getting worse, which for a balance sheet of this size is a different and more useful signal.
Management points to execution under its FaSTLAne 2030 strategy and a value creation plan. The measurable evidence in this quarter is narrow but real: revenue up, adjusted margin up 50 basis points, every region ex-Europe positive, liquidity inside the target band.
The gap is cash. A negative EUR 4 billion industrial free cash flow quarter, funded from a liquidity pool that is explicitly capped in percentage terms, leaves limited room for a second year of restructuring charges. The 2027 free cash flow promise is now the number that carries the whole story.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Gasgoo report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://auto.gasgoo.com/news/202610/28I70476169C109.shtml.