BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) – Porsche on Wednesday said its first-quarter profit fell by more than a fifth as auto markets remain challenging, piling further pressure on CEO Michael Leiters to cut costs and revive sales. Porsche has been hit by U.S. auto tariffs while Chinese consumers have increasingly turned away from the iconic German […]
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Porsche’s profit fell in first quarter as tariffs, Chinese market bite
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BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) – Porsche on Wednesday said its first-quarter profit fell by more than a fifth as auto markets remain challenging, piling further pressure on CEO Michael Leiters to cut costs and revive sales.
Porsche has been hit by U.S. auto tariffs while Chinese consumers have increasingly turned away from the iconic German brand in favour of cheaper local brands.
The automaker, majority-owned by Volkswagen, posted quarterly operating profit of 595 million euros ($696 million), down 22% year on year, making for a 7.1% margin, at the upper end of the forecast range.
This follows a tough 2025 that saw Porsche’s operating margin collapse to just 1.1%, a fraction of the 18% reported in the year of its blockbuster IPO in 2022.
Porsche said the first-quarter result supported its forecast for 2026 but warned that this did not include possible effects from the conflict in the Middle East.
The company is also under pressure from U.S. import tariffs, which cost the luxury sports car maker 200 million euros in the first three months of the year.
($1 = 0.8551 euros)
(Reporting by Rachel More; Editing by Christoph Steitz)