Volkswagen Posts 98.7% Drop in Nine-Month Operating Result

Volkswagen Group’s operating result fell 98.7% to €71 million in the first nine months of 2026, as €8.7 billion in special items weighed on earnings and pushed the third quarter to a deep loss.

VWAGY added $0.15, or 1.98%, on Wednesday to finish the Oct. 28 U.S. session at $7.73. Its 4 p.m. ET close (20:00 UTC) came before the automaker released the results on Oct. 29, so the share price predates the earnings announcement. The unsponsored American depositary receipt represents 0.1 of a Volkswagen AG ordinary share.

Revenue for the first nine months reached €233.4 billion, 2.2% below the year-earlier figure of €238.7 billion. The operating result was €71 million, compared with €5.408 billion in the same period a year earlier. Before special items, Volkswagen’s operating result was €8.8 billion, with a 3.8% operating return on sales. Revenue declined much less than operating result, reflecting the weight of the special items on the headline figure.

Special items totaled €8.7 billion over the nine-month period, including €7.8 billion in the third quarter. The largest specified charge was a €6.4 billion noncash write-down of Porsche goodwill. Volkswagen also listed about €1 billion in impairment adjustments on assets in China, along with costs tied to its planned sale of Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH.

Revenue from July through September was €75.277 billion, down 6.3% year over year. The quarter recorded a €5.860 billion operating loss, compared with a €1.299 billion loss in the same period a year earlier. Volkswagen identified U.S. tariffs, weakness in China, pricing and competitive pressure, and a greater share of lower-margin electric vehicles among the factors weighing on earnings.

For 2026, Volkswagen projects sales revenue of about €315 billion and an operating return on sales of up to 1%. Its planned cost program is around €31 billion. Volkswagen Group CFO and COO Arno Antlitz said, “We cannot afford to lose any time and must act quickly and decisively.”