Ferrari profit jumps 24% as demand pushes waiting list into 2025

Ferrari said on Thursday that its first-quarter profit jumped 24% to 297 million euros ($328.8 million), on a 10% increase in shipments as huge demand for its latest models drove a surge in profitability.  

“Our order book already extends into 2025,” said CEO Benedetto Vigna in a statement.

Ferrari’s revenue and profit both solidly beat Wall Street’s estimates, and the company maintained its upbeat guidance for the full year. Shares closed up just over 5% on Thursday following the report.

Here are the key numbers from Ferrari’s first-quarter earnings report, compared with Wall Street analysts’ consensus expectations as reported by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: 1.63 euros, vs. 1.48 euros expected.
• Revenue: 1.43 billion euros, vs. 1.39 billion euros expected.

Revenue increased 20% year over year, to 1.43 billion euros from 1.19 billion euros in the first quarter of 2022.

That was due in large part to a richer mix of models sold and an increase in “personalizations,” the company’s term for its lengthy options lists that can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to a new Ferrari’s price. Ferrari has been encouraging more of its customers to take advantage of the extended options available as part of a broader effort to boost its profit margins.

Those efforts are paying off: Ferrari’s EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) profit margin, a widely-watched figure, increased a full percentage point to 26.9% from 25.9% a year ago.

Ferrari shipped 3,567 vehicles in the quarter, up 10% from a year ago. It said the increase in shipments was driven by high demand for its Portofino M convertible, the 296 GTB hybrid sports car, and the 812 Competizione, a limited-run even-faster version of its twelve-cylinder flagship, the 812 Superfast.

Ferrari said that it began ramping up production of its latest seven-figure Icona model, the Daytona SP3, in the first quarter. It plans to make just 599 units of the Daytona SP3, which starts at just over $2.2 million. All 599 units are already sold.

Despite the long waiting list, Vigna said that Ferrari has re-opened order books for its upcoming Purosangue, a V12-powered SUV-like model with a starting price of about $400,000. Ferrari had temporarily stopped taking orders for the Purosangue because of unexpectedly high early demand.

Deliveries of the Purosangue will begin in Europe before the end of the second quarter, and in the United States in the third quarter.

Ferrari revealed one new model during the first quarter, a convertible version of its V8-powered Roma coupe.

Despite the better-than-expected quarter, Ferrari maintained its prior full-year guidance. It still expects revenue of about 5.7 billion euros in 2023, with adjusted earnings per share between 6 euros and 6.20 euros. It also expects a boost in full-year EBIT margin, to about 26%, powered by the Daytona SP3 and the Purosangue.