By Joshua Kirby
Mercedes-Benz said it is confident of booking a recovery in its operating earnings, despite a slide in revenue and profitability at the start of the year.
The German maker of luxury autos made earnings before interest and taxes of 1.9 billion euros ($2.23 billion) in the first three months of the year, it said Wednesday. That was 17% lower than in the same period last year.
Revenue fell 4.9% on year to 31.60 billion euros, while the adjusted operating margin in the mainstay cars business slid to 4.1% from 7.3% previously. Group net profit fell 17% on year to 1.43 billion euros.
Mercedes-Benz nevertheless said it remains confident of booking an operating profit for 2026 "significantly above" last year's level. That will "primarily reflect restructuring charges incurred in the prior year," the company said. Revenue is expected to be roughly flat.
The group said it was monitoring the Middle East conflict's potential impact on consumer confidence.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-29-26 0122ET
