Stellantis received $26 billion to overhaul its business

Automobile company shares Stellantis Its shares fell 27% in European trading on Friday, after the company said it expected to take a loss of 22 billion euros ($26 billion) from a business reset and hinted at backing away from its electrification push.

In Milan, the Italian company’s shares fell by 26%. In early Wall Street trading, the transatlantic company listed in New York stock Decreased by 25%.

Shares of other French car companies also fell on Friday morning Value and Forvia Both fell more than 1.2% and Renault Slippage 2%.

“The fees announced today largely reflect the cost of overestimating the pace of the energy transition that has alienated us from the needs, means and desires of many real-world car buyers,” Stellantis CEO Antonio Velosa said in a statement.

“It also reflects the impact of previous poor operational execution, the effects of which are being gradually addressed by our new team.”

Going forward, Stellantis said it will remain at the forefront of electric vehicle development, but said its own electric journey will continue “at a pace that should be governed by demand, not command.”

Stellantis also released some numbers for the fourth quarter in advance on Friday, saying it expects a net loss for 2025. In recognition of that net loss, it has suspended its dividend for 2026 and plans to raise up to 5 billion euros by issuing hybrid bonds.

For 2026, the auto giant is targeting a mid-single-digit increase in net revenue and a low-single-digit increase in adjusted operating income margin.

The company said halting dividends and issuing bonds would help preserve its balance sheet, and explained actions it took last year as part of a reset strategy.

This included announcing “the largest investment in Stellantis history in the US” – totaling $13 billion over four years – as well as launching 10 new products, eliminating products that were unable to turn a profit at scale, and restructuring its global manufacturing and quality management capabilities.

As part of the US investment drive, the transatlantic automaker said it would add 5,000 jobs to its US workforce.

While these moves resulted in costs of €22.2 billion, the company said they had collectively achieved a return to positive volume growth in 2025.

In the second half of the year, Stellantis’ US market share rose to 7.9%, while the company said it maintained its overall second-place market share position in expanded Europe.

Stellantis’ delisting comes on the heels of multibillion-dollar successes at rivals Ford and GM, which recently reported their own results of $19.5 billion and $7.1 billion, respectively — both tied to the divestment of electric vehicles.

Given the “magnitude of the collapse” and soft guidance for 2026, UBS analysts said a negative stock price reaction was expected. But they added that a “decisive” clean-up by new management and strong regional market fundamentals make the stock attractive as a potential “comeback” play for the US.

The write-down announcement on Friday came alongside news that Stellantis will divest its stake in NextStar Energy, a joint venture with LG Energy Solution that built and operates a Canadian battery manufacturing facility. LG Energy Solution will acquire Stellantis’ 49% stake, the companies said on Friday morning.

The joint venture was part of Stellantis’ broader electrification strategy. In 2022, former CEO Carlos Tavares set a goal of having 100% of sales in Europe and 50% of sales in the US be battery electric vehicles by the end of the decade.

The company is scheduled to present an updated long-term strategy at its Capital Markets Day in May.

Stellantis shares have been under pressure for some time, with its Italian stock falling nearly 25% in the past year and 40.5% the year before. Shares are currently down more than 13% since the start of 2026.

Velosa previously called 2026 a “year of execution” for the beleaguered automaker, which has been struggling with declining sales, leadership changes and disappointing profits for several years. In July, the company said it expected to receive tariffs of around €1.5 billion in 2025, as it reported a net loss of €2.3 billion in the first half.

In a note on Friday, Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Stellantis made a “wrong bet” on electric vehicles — but said the broader picture of electric vehicle adoption raises questions about Stellantis’ marketability.

“The long-standing argument for why many drivers don’t go electric is concerns about price, access to charging infrastructure, and how long the battery will last during their trip,” he said.

“However, prices are falling, more chargers are being installed, and battery range is improving. The success of companies like BYD suggests that there are plenty of people ready to make the leap. This raises the question of whether Stellantis’ frustration with electric vehicle sales is related to market issues or drivers simply don’t like its vehicles.”

Stellantis is scheduled to publish its full-year 2025 earnings on February 26.