Autoliv Inc. ALV reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $2.15 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.72 and rose 37% year over year. The company reported net sales of $2.58 billion in the quarter, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.47 billion but fell 1.4% year over year.

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Organic sales grew 2.2% year over year and surpassed our estimate of a decline of 3.5% due to a stronger light vehicle production. Autoliv reported adjusted operating income of $255 million, up 28% year over year. Adjusted operating margin was 9.9%, higher than 7.6% in the year-ago period due to higher organic sales and successful cost reduction initiatives.

Autoliv, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Autoliv, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Autoliv, Inc. Quote

Segmental Performance

Sales in the Airbags and Associated Products segment totaled $1.75 billion, beating our projection of $1.70 billion. Revenues, however, fell 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. The major categories within the segment that reported a decline in organic sales include knee airbags, driver airbags and passenger airbags.

Sales in the Seatbelts and Associated Products segment totaled $826 million, down 1% from the prior-year quarter due to the decline in organic sales in China and Europe. The metric, however, surpassed our projection of $771.7 million.

Region-wise, overall sales in the Americas during the quarter under review totaled $851 million, which topped our estimate of $833.5 million but decreased 4.7% year over year.

Sales in Europe totaled $764 million, which beat our forecast of $723 million but decreased 0.7% year over year.

Sales in China came in at $447 million, surpassing our projection of $424.3 million but declining 2.8% year over year.

Sales in the Rest of Asia totaled $515 million, which increased 4.8% year over year and topped our projection of $489 million.

Financial Position

Autoliv had cash and cash equivalents of $322 million as of March 31, 2025. Long-term debt totaled $1.57 billion. Operating cash flow in the quarter under review was $77 million and capital expenditure amounted to $93 million, resulting in a negative free cash flow of $16 million. In the quarter, ALV paid a dividend of 70 cents per share and repurchased 0.5 million shares.

Autoliv Reiterates 2025 Guidance

Autoliv has reiterated guidance for 2025. It expects 2025 organic sales growth of around 2% compared with 0.4% reported in 2024. The adjusted operating margin is anticipated to be in the range of 10-10.5%. Operating cash flow is expected to be $1.2 billion in 2025.

ALV’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Autoliv carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are China Yuchai International Limited CYD, Standard Motor Products, Inc. SMP and Suzuki Motor Corporation SZKMY, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CYD’s 2025 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 9.17% and 36.84%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved 25 cents in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SMP’s 2025 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 16.61% and 11.04%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 have improved 4 cents in the past 30 days. EPS estimates for 2026 have improved by a penny in the past seven days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SZKMY’s 2025 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 8.59% and 48.43%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 56 cents and 39 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.

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