Volkswagen Optimistic Despite Shaky Global Economy

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Volkswagen reported reasonably good earnings for the first nine months of the year, despite trouble in Europe. The global rival of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) reported that sales revenue was up 24% to €144.2 billion. Operating profits were flat at €8.8 billion.

But even VW could not escape the downdraft in Europe. The firm reported that deliveries in Western Europe fell 2.8% in the first three quarters of the year. At least it picked up ground on rivals in the region. Market share in Europe for the period was 24.6%, up from 23.2% last year.

Management brimmed with optimism despite the slowing of the world’s economy:

CFO Hans Dieter Pötsch was satisfied with business developments in light of the uncertain economic environment. “We have always said that the second half of the year would be more difficult, so our performance is in line with expectations. We have achieved a robust result.” He is confident that the Volkswagen Group will master the challenges that lie ahead of it. “We have a broad global positioning and our strong financial basis is practically unrivalled”, said Pötsch. “Our relative strength compared with the competition shows that we are on the right path.”

He may find his optimism wrong as the world’s economy slips deeper into recession.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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