Porsche is preparing to launch on the stock market before the end of the year when the company could be valued as high as €90 billion ($90 bn), and in an attempt to achieve something close to that number it’s likening itself to luxury legends such as Ferrari and Louis Vuitton. Unfortunately for Porsche, some investors aren’t convinced the German automaker is in the same league.
While Porsche has the advantage of being ahead of many carmakers in the switch to electric power and has posted record sales, its success is part of its problem. Porsche made 301,915 cars in 2021, but Ferrari built just 11,155 in the same period, and Aston Martin, only 6,178.
“Porsche isn’t a safe bet in a recession because it’s not as exclusive as Ferrari,” Daniel Roeska, an auto analyst at Bernstein told Bloomberg, while also highlighting Porsche’s limited independence from its VW Group parent company as a cause for investor concern.
“If you don’t change the governance and allow Porsche to decide what’s best for itself rather than making decisions at the group level, then you’re not maximizing shareholder value,” he added. Bloomberg reports that many of the shares being offered won’t come with voting rights.
Related: 2023 Porsche Macan EV Spotted Testing In The Alps Alongside Cayenne
Other problems conspiring to reduce Porsche’s value when the IPO happens, potentially this September, are further from the company’s control. Bloomberg’s investor sources claim the IPO market has slowed to a cruise due to concerns over inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine.
Many carmakers have suffered production slumps due to the pandemic and a shortage of semiconductors, and that has affected the price of those firms already listed on the markets.
Polestar’s much-hyped stock market launch last month didn’t produce the fireworks some were hoping for, the share price dropping markedly in the days following the launch before recovering slightly. Polestar shares are currently priced at $10, some way below the opening high of almost $13.