Continental reports €19.7bn in 2025 sales, down 2%, with the Tires sector holding a 13.6% EBIT margin and higher earnings forecast for 2026.
Continental Eyes Earnings Growth in 2026 as Realignment Nears Completion
Continental has reported full-year 2025 consolidated sales of €19.7 billion, down 2 per cent from €20.1 billion in 2024. However, the company expects higher earnings in 2026 as it enters what it described as the final stage of its strategy realignment.
The German tyre and technology group posted an adjusted operating result of €2.0 billion for 2025, down 8 per cent from €2.2 billion the previous year, with an adjusted EBIT margin of 10.3 per cent against 11.0 per cent in 2024. Organic sales growth, excluding the effects of exchange rates and changes in consolidation scope, was 0.8 per cent.
Adjusted cash flow improved sharply to €959 million from €598 million, a gain of 60.4 per cent. Net income for 2025 was -€165 million, weighed down by non-cash special effects on €1.2 billion related to the spin-off of Aumovio and the planned sale of the Original Equipment Solutions business, which was completed in February 2026.
The Executive Board is proposing a dividend of €2.70 per share, up €0.20 from the prior year, amounting to a total distribution of around €540 million, pending shareholders’ agreement at the annual meeting on April 30, 2026. Continental also said it would distribute a mid-double-digit million euro amount in profit-sharing bonuses to employees worldwide, with staff in Germany receiving around €1,123 in the Tires sector, €740 in ContiTech, and €897 in group functions.
“We achieved our targets for the Continental Group and for Tires in 2025, and reached key milestones in our realignment: the successful spin-off of Aumovio and the sale of OESL completed in February. This year, with the planned sale of ContiTech and Continental‘s focus on the tyre business, we’re entering the final stage of our strategic realignment,” Chief Executive Christian Kötz said.
The group’s Tires sector remained resilient, achieving sales of €13.8 billion with an adjusted EBIT margin of 13.6 per cent, broadly in line with the 13.7 per cent recorded in 2024, despite tariff and exchange-rate burdens of more than €100 million. Ultra-high performance tyres of 18 inches and above accounted for 62 per cent of Continental brand passenger car tyre sales, up from 60 per cent the year before. Continental said its tyres were evaluated in 77 independent tests worldwide throughout 2025 and achieved a top-three ranking in more than 80 per cent of them.
ContiTech fell short of expectations in a weak industrial market, with sales declining 6 per cent to €6.0 billion and an adjusted EBIT margin of 5.3 per cent, down from 6.1 per cent in 2024. Continental said the structured sale process for ContiTech was launched at the start of 2026, with the business now generating around 80 per cent of its sales with industrial customers following the completion of the OESL divestment.
Chief Financial Officer Roland Welzbacher said, “These challenges will not go away this year. However, thanks to the measures we’ve taken, our operational strength, our excellent products, and our strong brand, we’re aiming to increase earnings in 2026 despite the difficult environment. We also expect tailwinds from lower raw material prices and a recovery in our industrial markets in the second half of the year.”
For 2026, Continental is forecasting consolidated sales of between €17.3 billion and €18.9 billion, and an adjusted EBIT margin of between 11.0 per cent and 12.5 per cent. The Tires sector is expected to generate sales of €13.2 billion to €14.2 billion with a margin of 13.0 per cent to 14.5 per cent. Meanwhile, ContiTech is forecast to achieve sales of €4.2 billion to €4.8 billion with a margin of 7.0 per cent to 8.5 per cent.
