Aston Martin has issued another profit warning and agreed to sell the permanent naming rights to its Formula One team for £50m, as the British marque grapples with falling deliveries, mounting debt and the impact of US tariffs.
The carmaker, majority-owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, said earnings for 2025 would be worse than City forecasts, marking its fifth profit warning since September 2024.
Analysts had expected the company to report a loss of around £184m when it publishes full-year results next week.
Aston Martin delivered 5,448 vehicles last year, nearly 10 per cent fewer than in 2024, as sales in the US were hit by a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars imposed by former US president Donald Trump. The group also missed targets for high-margin special edition models.
Shares fell as much as 4 per cent in early trading before trimming losses.
Cash reserves stand at around £250m, broadly stable over the past six months but down from £360m at the start of 2025. The company’s debt pile has risen by about 70 per cent since early 2024.
To bolster liquidity, Aston Martin has agreed to sell the permanent right to use its name in Formula One to its F1 team for £50m. The team is operated by AMR GP Holdings, a separate entity also controlled by Stroll, meaning the deal effectively represents additional funding from its owner.
Because Stroll sits on both sides of the transaction and holds a 32 per cent stake in Aston Martin, the deal requires shareholder approval. Investors representing more than half the company, including Stroll’s vehicle, Geely and Mercedes-Benz, have already indicated they will vote in favour.
A similar naming rights arrangement was struck in 2024, granting the F1 team rights until 2055.
Since taking control in 2020, Stroll has sought to reposition the brand through new model launches and repeated capital raisings. However, the turnaround has been marked by persistent losses, production setbacks and inventory challenges.
The US tariff regime added significant cost pressure in one of Aston Martin’s most important markets. A subsequent UK-US trade agreement reduced tariffs to 10 per cent on up to 100,000 British-made cars from mid-2025, offering partial relief.
In October, the company cut £300m from its investment plans and scaled back development spending on new models, citing tariffs and subdued demand in China.
Despite the headwinds, Aston Martin pointed to upcoming deliveries of its £850,000 Valhalla hypercar as a positive sign. Around 500 units are due for delivery in 2026, with more than half of the limited 999-production run already sold.
Nevertheless, with its share price down roughly 50 per cent over the past year, Aston Martin’s efforts to restore profitability remain under intense scrutiny as it navigates a volatile global automotive market.
