Jeep maker Stellantis swings to profit on rising demand in North America

A new Jeep Wrangler 4-Door Sahara 4x4 vehicle displayed for sale at a Stellantis NV dealership in Miami, Florida, US, on Saturday, April 5, 2025.

Auto giant Stellantis on Thursday swung to profit in the second quarter, boosted by rising demand in North America as the company showed tentative signs of benefitting from CEO Antonio Filosa's turnaround plan.

The multinational conglomerate, which owns household names including Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, posted second-quarter net profit of 293 million euros ($335.3 million), versus a loss of 1.87 billion euros a year earlier.

Adjusted operating income more than tripled in the second quarter to 773 million euros in the April to June period, from 213 million euros a year earlier. That was below an analyst consensus estimate from Reuters of 914 million euros, however.

Milan- and New York-listed shares of Stellantis fell sharply on the news, with shares in Italy falling more than 8% before paring losses. U.S. shares were off roughly 3% during trading Thursday morning.

Even with posting a profit, Wall Street analysts Thursday questioned why there wasn't more growth for the company in the U.S. after significant price cuts and the launch of new models such as the Jeep Cherokee SUV.

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Milan-listed shares of Stellantis so far this year.

Filosa said the Cherokee, which is made in Mexico, is ramping up production but the company is intentionally limiting some models due to U.S. tariff costs, which are expected to add at least 1 billion euros this year.

"It is very exposed to tariffs. So we are balancing volumes with profit generation," he said of the Cherokee during the company's quarterly earnings call. "We are doing that by limiting some trims and mixing on the highest and more profitable trims."

Filosa many times noted that his FaSTLAne 2030 turnaround plan is well underway, but the "road is long" and the company needs time for the strategy to fully take hold.

Stellantis posted industrial free cash flows of 1 billion euros at the end of June, comfortably beating Citi's forecast of 600 million euros.

Analysts at the Wall Street bank said that while this figure reflects improved operating performance, the auto giant's adjusted operating income margin remains at a "very low" level of 1.8%.

Positive free cash flow is obviously welcome, analysts at Citi said in a research note to clients. "Nevertheless, we expect investors will await more evidence of positive operating performance before revisiting STLA," they added.