BMW has cut its full-year profit outlook for the second time in less than five months, warning that the cost of restructuring its German operations will all but wipe out the profit margin of its core car business this year.
The Munich-based premium carmaker said on 3 November that it now expects an automotive operating margin of between minus 0.5% and plus 0.5% for 2026. Excluding restructuring charges, it said, the margin should remain within its previous forecast of above 2.0% — still far below its long-term target of 8% to 10%.
The warning came hours before BMW reported third-quarter pretax earnings of €2.1 billion ($2.4 billion), down 11% from a year earlier but in line with analysts’ expectations in a company-provided consensus. Revenue fell 6% to €30.4 billion.
The operating margin in the core automotive business narrowed to 3.4%, beating analysts’ forecast of 3.1% but down from 5.2% a year earlier. That relatively resilient quarterly performance helped lift BMW shares by about 2% on Wednesday, despite the downgrade to the full-year outlook.
Chief executive Milan Nedeljkovic said the company would intensify and accelerate its structural measures, adding: “Current developments in our industry call for decisiveness and swift implementation.” BMW said it planned to cut management functions more quickly under the restructuring drive.
The programme includes 8,000 job cuts in Germany, launched as a redundancy scheme in July. BMW joins Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz in a wider effort to cut German production costs as the industry grapples with weak demand, high costs and intense competition.
China remains the sharpest pressure point. BMW’s sales in the country fell 22% in the first nine months of the year, as Western carmakers struggle to keep pace with lower-cost domestic rivals in the world’s largest car market.
The latest warning underlines how quickly the restructuring bill is landing. Investors welcomed the fact that the third-quarter numbers were not worse than expected, but the new full-year range leaves little room for error in the final quarter.
Sources: Reuters, “BMW warns on profit again as restructuring costs bite” (4 November 2026), https://www.reuters.com/world/china/bmw-warns-profit-again-restructuring-costs-bite-2026-11-04/
