Luxury brands are known to weather the storms better than mainstream marques and Ferrari makes no exception.
Quite the contrary, the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer has seen its market value surge at the start of this week to about $30 billion. Ferrari’s shares rose by as much as 7 percent on Monday, after the company reported better-than-expected earnings. Revenue fell only 1 percent to $1.02 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $852 million.
As a result, Ferrari’s market valuation is now worth more than that of U.S. automotive giants General Motors or Ford. Ferrari’s market capitalization settled to $29.8 billion, while GM’s market cap fell to under $29.3 billion. Ford and Fiat Chrysler’s market capitalization declined to $19.2 billion and under $13 billion, respectively.
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So how is that possible, considering that Ferrari makes about 10,000 cars a year while GM builds approximately 7.7 million? Well, CNBC reports that investors are betting that Ferrari’s iconic brand name, hefty prices and massive profit margins (24 percent compared to a 5 percent industry average) are likely to power the stock through the coronavirus crisis better than other car brands.
Besides the strong financial results, Ferrari also managed to increase deliveries by 5 percent to 2,738 units in the first quarter of 2020. That’s all the more remarkable when considering the carmaker had to shut down its factory in March.
The optimism surrounding Ferrari’s stock was also fueled by the restart of its factories in Maranello and Modena on Monday, May 4. Both facilities are expected to return to full production on Friday, May 8.
Ferrari’s share price has more than tripled since it went public in 2015. Despite its stability in uncertain times, the company nevertheless expects to be affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Ferrari reduced its earnings forecast for 2020 to €3.4-€3.6 billion ($3.7-$3.9 billion), from €4.1 billion ($4.5 billion) previously.
The company also warned of a “harsh” reduction of revenues linked to its Formula One business. As for its car business, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri said during a call with investors that “so far there are no red lights flashing in any geography,” despite several cancellations of car orders in the U.S. and Australia.