Stellantis has decided to take the scenic route toward its grand 2026 strategy reveal, pushing the launch back to the second quarter of the year. New CEO Antonio Filosa apparently needs a bit more time to “prepare” for the Capital Markets Day. The PowerPoint isn’t quite ready, and the consultants are still arguing.
The automaker claims the delay will allow them to better “factor in critical exogenous factors”, a phrase that sounds like it was written by a lawyer. These mysterious “factors” that take part to this delay include US tariffs and European political tango sessions with policymakers. In simpler terms, Stellantis is trying to make sense of a global market where regulations change faster than social network trends.
While the board fine-tunes its buzzwords, investors have had their own rollercoaster. Stellantis shares plunged 7,3% on Friday after a brief moment of optimism fueled by strong preliminary Q3 sales data, then bounced back by 4% the following Monday.
Barclays analysts chimed in, noting a “strongly increasing investor interest” in Stellantis, which is banker-speak for “we’re watching, but we’re nervous”. The optimism is tempered by concerns about the company’s “limited visibility” in adjusted operating income and free cash flow, not to mention a management team still trying to prove it knows where it’s headed.
Filosa’s challenge is clear: steer a multi-brand empire juggling electric transformation, union politics, and customer nostalgia for combustion engines that actually make noise. So, while Stellantis publicly insists this delay is strategic, one can’t help but wonder if it’s just corporate speak for “we need a bigger plan before the next shareholder tantrum”. For now, the countdown resets. The auto giant will drop its next batch of shipment and revenue data on October 30. Until then, investors can only wait, perhaps in their Jeeps, idling in neutral.
