Stellantis CEO Keeps Maserati, Eyes New Partners
Stellantis's CEO ruled out a Maserati sale and Dodge staged an elaborate brand showcase at Roadkill Nights in Michigan — a full-throttle product push from an automaker that burned through $5.25 billio
Stellantis CEO Keeps Maserati, Eyes New Partners
NEW YORK, August 9 —
Stellantis N.V. (STLA) is staging a full-throttle brand push, ruling out a Maserati sale and splashing Dodge across a Michigan festival, while burning through $5.25 billion in operating cash and missing its last earnings estimate by 65.2%.
- Operating cash flow: -$5.25B trailing twelve months; free cash flow: -$3.03B [f10]
- $52.10B total debt vs. $31.95B cash; forward P/E of 4.1x on trailing EPS of -$7.82 [f11, f12]
The Maserati Question
Stellantis designs, engineers, and sells vehicles across 18 brands, from Ram Trucks and Jeep to Alfa Romeo and Maserati, across more than 20 markets worldwide. The CEO's decision to keep Maserati while exploring new partnerships holds the portfolio intact, though the balance sheet leaves little room for experiments. With $52.10 billion in debt and negative free cash flow, the cost of sustaining a struggling luxury brand and its partnership search falls on a company already trading at $5.52 against a consensus analyst target of $7.08. New partners could lower Maserati's fixed costs or just spread them more widely, the cash flow will show which.
Brand Spending With Negative Cash Flow
On August 7, Dodge staged Roadkill Nights at M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, debuting the most powerful SIXPACK-powered Charger, unveiling the Durango R/T 392 Smokescreen Concept, and previewing a Color Jailbreak customization program aimed at broadening VIP color options. That spending makes sense if it lifts sales, Stellantis posted $160.86 billion in trailing revenue on a 6.9% gross margin, leaving almost no buffer for execution missteps. The sharper concern is the EPS swing from a 192.8% beat two quarters ago to a 65.2% miss most recently: revenue is not reliably reaching the bottom line, which is where brand spending has to show up.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| STLA | $20.8B | 4.1x | -41.0% |
| RACE | $72.5B | 32.5x | -6.6% |
| VWAGY | $44.5B | 0.4x | -22.3% |
| BYDDY | $104.9B | 14.1x | -18.4% |
| HMC | $41.3B | 6.4x | -2.7% |
| RIVN | $23.2B | n/a | +34.1% |
What to Watch
The Maserati partnership search needs a named partner, and the deal's structure will show whether costs are being cut or a sale simply deferred. Any improvement in free cash flow from the current -$3.03 billion baseline would show the earnings trajectory turning. Institutional owners hold 48.8% and insiders 23.5%, putting both groups directly in line with the cash burn. Run the free Stellantis N.V. deep-dive → for the current numbers.
Current fundamentals, valuation and filing history for Stellantis N.V. (STLA) are tracked on its Basis Report page.
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Stellantis's CEO ruled out a Maserati sale and Dodge staged an elaborate brand showcase at Roadkill Nights in Michigan — a full-throttle product push from an automaker that burned through $5.25 billion in operating cash over the past year and missed its most recent earnings estimate by 65.2%.