Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa is about to unveil his plan to turn the company around as the automaker’s stock lags – CNBC
DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa has said leading the transatlantic automaker is a dream come true, but the company’s stock has been anything but that for investors under his short tenure thus far.
Stellantis stock is off nearly 30% since Filosa, a company veteran from Italy who climbed through the ranks, was named CEO nearly a year ago. It’s down about 21% since he officially started as CEO last June.
Tune in Thursday, May 21, at 10:25 a.m. ET: CNBC’s Phil LeBeau interviews Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa. Watch in real time on CNBC+ or the CNBC Pro stream.
Thursday marks a major next step for Filosa and his executive team, as they unveil a turnaround plan for the embattled automaker during a capital markets day at Stellantis’ North American headquarters near Detroit.
Filosa has promised investors that the day “will outline the next phase of our strategy with clear priorities, clear targets, and a focused road map for execution.”
The strategy he and others will present this week is expected to focus regionally on key brands such as Jeep and Ram in the U.S. and Fiat and Peugeot in Europe, detail how they plan to reduce costs and lay out how the company aims to return to profitability following a net loss of 22.3 billion euros ($26.3 billion) last year.
“It was my dream to take the helm of Stellantis … but obviously I recognized, at the time, with my team, that there were still things to be fixed,” Filosa said during a Financial Times event last week. “We are fixing them at the speed of light, and I truly believe that now, and we will share that May 21 at our investor day, we have a clear path of sustainable and comfortable growth in front of us.”
Stellantis’ struggles
That path isn’t so clear for Wall Street. The auto industry as a whole is facing concerns about artificial intelligence, the growth of Chinese companies and U.S. tariffs, while Stellantis continues to rectify its own problems.
The automaker in recent years has lost market share and many times had contentious relationships with its suppliers and dealers. It’s also pulled back from many of its previous electric vehicle plans, and last year’s results included a 22 billion euro ($26 billion) restructuring away from all-electric vehicles.
Stellantis has not given detailed guidance for 2026 aside from saying that it’s targeting mid-single digit improvements in net revenues, low-single digit adjusted operating income margins and improved industrial free cash flows.
“In our view, the [capital markets day] may bring strategic headlines, but without a credible path to structurally higher margins and cash generation, this is unlikely to justify the current recovery premium,” BofA Securities analyst Horst Schneider said in an investor note last week downgrading the automaker to underperform.
Schneider said improvements in the company’s first-quarter results proved initial restructuring efforts under Filosa are “starting to help,” but “did not prove a sustainable turnaround.”
Despite the share price decline and BofA downgrade, Stellantis’ stock remains overweight ahead of the investor event, according to an average of analysts’ ratings compiled by FactSet.
‘Year of execution’
The investor event is expected to promote the automaker as a growth company following years of market share declines under former CEO Carlos Tavares, according to Filosa and other executives.
Since becoming CEO, Filosa has reshuffled the automaker’s top ranks, prioritized sales growth and, most recently, announced a global cost-cutting effort to boost profits and expand partnerships, including with Chinese automakers. He has called 2026 the “year of execution” for the company.
“Execution will define 2026. Our priorities are clear, and we are confident that the actions we are taking are exactly the right ones,” he said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on April 30.
Filosa said last week that partnerships, such as recently announced deals with Chinese automakers Leapmotor and Dongfeng Group, will be key for the automaker’s growth.
The automaker announced Wednesday an expanded partnership with Dongfeng, moving from producing vehicles in China to a new European-based joint venture, as well as separate plans to explore opportunities to collaborate on product development in the U.S. with Jaguar Land Rover.
Filosa has not detailed specifics about the cost-cutting plan, which is formally called the Value Creation Program, except to say that it would have “ambitious” targets focused mainly on North America and Europe.
The company’s 14 auto brands are also expected to be a focus of the event. That includes expanding its performance SRT brand, which is highly profitable for the company, as well as potentially launching new products for its beleaguered Chrysler brand, Stellantis executives have recently said.
Filosa has previously not ruled out the possibility of regionally refocusing or shrinking the company’s vast portfolio that includes U.S. brands Jeep, Ram and Chrysler, as well as Italian nameplates Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which have not performed well in America.
Filosa most recently said the brands are the company’s strength, but they should not be treated equally when it comes to investing in them.
“The real point is to combine efficient capital allocation with brand-specific strategies,” Filosa said at the FT event last week.
