Aston Martin’s business is sputtering — its billionaire chairman just keeps injecting funds
The British luxury carmaker is raising ~£125 million, while shares have sunk 98% since its IPO.
When Aston Martin decided to go public in 2018, the luxury sports carmaker was eyeing an IPO valuation that could see it race past the likes of Ferrari, boosted by hopes for a new lineup amid a booming period in the global luxury car market. However, less than seven years later, James Bond’s favored carmaker has seen its market value sink to just £664 million — 0.8% that of Ferrari’s — as Canadian Chairman Lawrence Stroll flirts with the idea of taking it private, after his investment consortium injected another £52.5 million into the company this week.
Along with the sale of its minority stake in the Aston Martin Aramco F1 team (said to be worth at least £74 million), Aston Martin will have raised ~£125 million this week — its seventh equity raise since Stroll arrived in 2020. In that time, the Yew Tree Consortium, Stroll’s investment vehicle, has pumped a staggering ~£600 million into the loss-making company.
The tariff uncertainty that’s weighing over peers like Ferrari, Ford, and General Motors is just another concern on a long list for Aston Martin. Since its IPO, the company’s shares have plummeted about 98% as the carmaker contests with production and launch delays, its mounting debt pile, the weakening Chinese market, disappointing sales figures for new models, and more besides.
Gear shift
There is one potential light at the end of the tunnel for the 112-year-old carmaker, though: customization. Increasingly, customers looking to adapt their Vanquishes or Vantages has become an important, high-margin source of revenue for Aston Martin, accounting for 18% of the brand’s sales last year. At least that’s what the latest AM CEO — the fourth in the last five years — is hoping for, with customization highlighted as a key plan to get the carmaker back in the black, per an interview on Monday.
As with basically any other international company in the business of selling things in America, however, tariffs could potentially scupper those plans. Last year, the US accounted for more than one-third of Aston Martin’s revenues, leaving it exposed to Trump’s 25% auto tariffs. Unlike Ferrari, it’s unclear whether the already struggling brand has the horsepower to pass the hikes on to its customers at this time.
Shares popped as much as 13% on the back of Monday’s capital injection announcement, but have since hit the brakes.
