Ferrari’s share surged on Monday by as much as 7% taking its market value to about $30 billion, which means the Italian exotic car manufacturer is now worth more than both Ford and General Motors. The stock price jumped after the Maranello-based iconic brand announced better-than-expected earnings.
The Ferrari factories were shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, yet the automaker reported an increase of 5% in its shipment of cars in the last quarter totaling to 2,738. Market analysts predicted revenue of $852 million, but the Italian marque was able to beat the market expectations by posting a nominal decline of only 1% to $1.02 billion. What’s interesting is that Ferrari makes only 10,000 cars in a year while GM produced around 7.7 million units last year.
A CNBC report stated: “investors are betting that Ferrari’s storied brand name and hefty prices and profit margins are likely to power the stock through the coronavirus crisis better than other auto brands.” Another report published by Fiat Group World, an unaffiliated Fiat Chrysler Automobiles website, last month claimed that Ferrari makes a profit of around $95,000 on each car it sells. What that means is Ferrari had a 23.2 percent operation margin on each car it sold in 2019, making it the most profitable automaker in the world.
In comparison, most automakers have an operating margin below 5%. The company also restarted its factories in Maranello and Modena on Monday, which further boosted investor confidence in the storied automobile brand.