Ferrari sees better earnings with 'personalizations,' stock falls anyway

Italian luxury automaker Ferrari reported second quarter results that beat expectations, but an improved outlook powered by bespoke “personalizations” wasn’t enough to impress investors.

From a guidance point of view, Ferrari (RACE) now sees full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of as much as 2.19-2.22 billion euros ($2.40-$2.43 billion), up from prior guidance of 2.13-2.18 billion euros ($2.33-$2.39 billion). Ferrari also bumped up its full-year revenue forecast slightly to 5.8 billion euros ($6.36 billion), up from a prior 5.7 billion euros.

“The decision to revise the guidance upwards was supported in particular by stunning results in personalizations,” Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said in a statement. “We see this trend that is better than expected,” Vigna followed up on the earnings call this morning.

Nonetheless, Ferrari’s guidance hike wasn’t enough for investors, as US-listed shares were lower in midday trade. That being said, investors could be taking profits as Ferrari shares have surged an astounding 46% this year.

Overall for the quarter, Ferrari reported adjusted EBITDA of 589 million euros ($645.4 million), topping analyst estimates of 577 million euros ($632.3 million), and up 31.9% from a year ago. Revenue for the quarter came in at 1.47 billion euros ($1.61 billion), up 14.1% from a year ago on sales of 3,392 vehicles, nearly identical to a year ago.

In terms of deliveries, Ferrari shipped 3,392 vehicles in Q2, a slight decrease of 63 cars from a year ago. The model mix contained nine gas-powered cars and four hybrid engine models, with hybrid deliveries hitting a 43.0% share, more than double a year ago, Ferrari said.

The Purosangue, which is Ferrari’s first-ever four-door, four-seat vehicle, began deliveries in Q2 following a strong response after its launch late last year. Ferrari also unveiled the Roma Spider earlier this year, and is aiming to release four new vehicles in 2023.

Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska wrote in a note to clients Wednesday morning that Ferrari could surprise with another guidance raise later this year, however, due to the Purosangue.

“Mix will improve since Purosangue and Daytona SP3 deliveries have only started gaining speed – this would only enhance the higher than expected option (personalization) uptake,” Roeska wrote. “Ferrari has also commented that it may have shifted some delivery timeframes from Q2 to Q3 to offset the drag from summer shutdowns, providing another source of dry powder.”

Ferrari also reiterated that its first full electric vehicle is expected to debut in 2025, and EVs and hybrids are expected to be the vast majority of sales for the company in the back half of the decade.

Lastly, Ferrari adjusted costs from its Formula 1 (FWONK) racing team, with the company seeing lower costs due to “revised Formula 1 in season ranking assumptions.” With the team currently sitting fourth (191 points) overall for the 2023 season, analysts on the call were questioning whether the team could work its way back up to 2nd place, where the team finished last year, based on how far it is behind Mercedes (247 points), which sits solidly in that position.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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