Porsche profit hits forecast despite deep decline in Q1 sales

On the Dash:

• Porsche’s Q1 profit fell 21.9% but still beat its own forecast.
• Cash flow more than doubled, a rare bright spot in a tough quarter.
• The Bugatti sale signals Porsche is serious about slimming down.

Porsche AG reported first-quarter operating profit of €595 million ($696 million) on Wednesday, landing at the upper end of its full-year forecast range despite a 21.9% decline from a year earlier. Return on sales came in at 7.1%. Revenue fell 5.2% to €8.40 billion ($9.82 billion).

The company delivered 60,991 vehicles in the quarter, down 14.7% from a year earlier. The decline in delivery reflected the phase-out of the combustion-engine Cayman and Boxster models and the end of U.S. tax incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles. The electric vehicle share of Porsche’s mix fell to 19.8% from 25.9%. Disciplined pricing and a strong product mix cushioned the revenue drop relative to the steeper volume decline, a strategy the company calls “Value over Volume.”

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New Chief Executive Michael Leiters is pushing a broad restructuring. He called 2026 a year of strategic “realignment,” aimed at making Porsche “leaner and faster.” The company is developing a formal Strategy 2035, targeting a lower break-even point, greater financial resilience, and a sharper product lineup. Porsche plans to present the full strategy update at a Capital Markets Day this fall.

The company confirmed its full-year guidance: revenue of €35 billion to €36 billion ($40.9 billion to $42.1 billion), with an operating return on sales of 5.5% to 7.5%. Potential impacts from the ongoing Middle East conflict are not factored into the outlook.

“The realignment lays the foundation for sustainable profitability and long-term value creation,” Chief Financial Officer Jochen Breckner said in the company’s press release.

Last week, the automaker agreed to sell its stake in the venture that owns the Bugatti supercar brand, part of a broader retreat from ultra-luxury cars to focus on its core business.