Record Data Sheet
On July 29, 2026, Porsche AG published its first half results, and at first glance, they don’t add up. The company sold far fewer cars than a year earlier, and still made a lot more money. The explanation comes down to a strategy the company has repeated like a mantra for a couple of years now: value over volume.
The numbers, straight from its own report
Between January and June 2026, Porsche AG brought in 17.23 billion euros in revenue, down 5.1% from 18.16 billion euros in the same period of 2025, according to its official earnings release. Despite that drop in revenue, group operating profit rose 34%, to 1.35 billion euros, beating even what analysts expected (1.26 billion euros, based on the S&P Global Visible Alpha consensus cited by Reuters).
Return on sales climbed from 5.5% to 7.8%. Net cash flow from the automotive division reached roughly 1 billion euros, up from 400 million a year earlier. Porsche delivered 122,306 vehicles during the half, down 16.5% from a year before.
Why it’s making more money while selling less
The first reason is the average price per vehicle, which climbed to about 126,000 euros, up 6,000 euros from a year earlier, according to figures from the earnings call reported by Investing.com. Porsche sold fewer cars, but each one left a bigger margin behind.
The second reason is the 911, the brand’s most profitable model, whose sales rose more than 21% during the half. In a period when almost everything else fell, the 911 carried the business.
The third reason is a sharp drop in restructuring costs. Porsche booked a net charge of about 100 million euros tied to its strategic realignment in the first half of 2026, compared to roughly 800 million euros in the same period of 2025. That gap alone accounts for a big share of the profit improvement.
What’s behind the drop in sales
Porsche attributes the decline in deliveries to the phaseout of the 718 model and lower volume for the Macan, the latter hit by the expiration of US electric vehicle tax credits. On top of that, demand in China has weakened, a problem hitting German luxury brands broadly, not just Porsche.
The layoffs behind the strategy
The Monday before releasing results, Porsche announced it will cut another 5,000 jobs by 2035 as part of its cost cutting plan, while shielding its main German plants from forced layoffs under an agreement reached with worker representatives. That comes on top of an earlier plan to cut 3,900 jobs by 2030, including 2,000 temporary positions. All told, Reuters estimates Porsche will cut around 9,000 jobs.
What Porsche expects for the rest of 2026
Porsche kept its full year guidance unchanged: revenue of between 35 billion and 36 billion euros (down from 36.27 billion in 2025), an operating margin of between 5.5% and 7.5%, an automotive cash flow margin of between 3% and 5%, an automotive EBITDA margin of between 15% and 17%, and a battery electric vehicle share of between 24% and 26%. The company plans to lay out more detail on its strategy at its Capital Markets Day on October 7, 2026.
That guidance stands out precisely because it runs against the grain. Several major German automakers have cut their financial expectations this year, amid a weaker Chinese market, cost pressure, and softer consumer demand.
Frequently asked questions
- How much did Porsche earn in the first half of 2026? 1.35 billion euros in operating profit, up 34% from 1.01 billion euros in the same period of 2025, according to its official earnings release on July 29, 2026.
- How many cars did Porsche deliver in the first half of 2026? 122,306 vehicles, down 16.5% from a year earlier, according to the same report.
- Why is Porsche making more money while selling fewer cars? Because of a higher average price per vehicle (about 126,000 euros, up 6,000 from the year before), strong demand for the 911 (sales up more than 21%), and a sharp drop in restructuring costs, from about 800 million euros in the first half of 2025 to just 100 million in the same period of 2026.
- Is Porsche cutting more jobs? Yes. On July 27, 2026, it announced 5,000 additional job cuts by 2035, on top of the 3,900 already planned by 2030. Reuters estimates the total cuts at around 9,000 jobs.
- Did Porsche change its guidance for all of 2026? No. It kept its target of 35 billion to 36 billion euros in revenue and an operating margin of 5.5% to 7.5% for the full year.
- Which model drove Porsche’s results the most? The 911, with sales up more than 21% during the half, according to the company itself.