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APTV · Q4 2025
Preliminary brief— based on press release only. Full analysis including management tone and Q&A will be added when the transcript is available.

APTV · Q1 2026 Earnings

Aptiv

Reported May 5, 2026

30-second summary

Aptiv closed the Versigent spin in Q1 FY2026 and the print is the first look at New Aptiv as a standalone — Q1 FY2026 revenue of $5.09B (+5.4% YoY) landed inside the prior $4.95–5.15B guide range (toward the upper portion, $64M below the high end), while adjusted EBITDA of $752M landed in the upper half of the $715–765M guide and adjusted EPS of $1.71 cleared the upper half of the $1.55–1.75 guide. Total Aptiv Q1 new business awards of $7B and New Aptiv–focused Q1 customer awards of $4.6B (+15% vs. 2025 quarterly average, including ~$900M non-auto), both disclosed by Kevin Clark, anchor the post-spin commercial story. FY2026 was re-baselined to New Aptiv only ($12.8–13.2B revenue, 18.6% EBITDA margin — a 240bps lift vs. the prior Total Aptiv 16.2% margin frame) and management now flags Middle East–driven commodity inflation as a fresh headwind not in the February guide. Q2 FY2026 guide of $3.2–3.4B implies -38% to -35% YoY against the Q2 FY2025 Total Aptiv base of $5.20B, an optically severe step-down that is the spin reshaping the perimeter rather than an operational collapse — but the headline framing will require careful reading by anyone benchmarking on prior-period comparisons.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q1 FY2026

$1.71

Revenue

Q1 FY2026

$5.09B

+5.4% YoY

Gross margin

Q1 FY2026

18.1%

Free cash flow

Q1 FY2026

$-0.36B

Operating margin

Q1 FY2026

7.4%

Key financials

Q1 FY2026
MetricQ1 FY2026YoYQ4 FY2025QoQ
Revenue$5.09B+5.4%$5.15B-1.3%
EPS$1.71—$1.86-8.1%
Gross margin18.1%—18.7%-60bps
Operating margin7.4%—8.2%-80bps
Free cash flow$-0.36B———

Guidance

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Actuals vs prior guidance

MetricPeriodPrior guideActualΔResult
RevenueQ1 FY2026$4,950 - $5,150 billion$5.086 billion-0.064 - 0.136 billion below low end of guideMissed
Adjusted EBITDAQ1 FY2026$715 - $765 million$752 millionin-line (within range)Missed
Adjusted EBITDA MarginQ1 FY202614.7%14.8%+0.1pts above guideMissed
Adjusted EPSQ1 FY2026$1.55 - $1.75$1.71-0.04 below high end of guide but in-lineBeat

New guidance

MetricPeriodGuideYoY
RevenueQ2 FY2026$3,200 - $3,400 million-38.5% to -34.6% YoY
Adjusted EPSQ2 FY2026$1.30 - $1.50—
Adjusted EBITDAQ2 FY2026$555 - $605 million—

Changes to prior guidance

MetricPeriodPrior guideNew guideΔResult
Revenue
FY2026
$21,120 - $21,820 million (Total Aptiv combined)$12,800 - $13,200 million (New Aptiv only)Not directly comparable: prior was Total Aptiv (combined pre-separation), current is New Aptiv only (post-separation). The 39.4-40.2% reduction in guidance reflects the Versigent spin-off, not operational decline.Lowered
Adjusted EBITDA
FY2026
$3,385 - $3,585 million (Total Aptiv combined)$2,360 - $2,480 million (New Aptiv only)Not directly comparable: prior was Total Aptiv, current is New Aptiv only. Represents 30.3-31.5% reduction reflecting Versigent separation.Lowered
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
FY2026
16.2%18.6%+2.4ptsRaised

Segment performance

Q1 FY2026
SegmentQ1 FY2026YoY
Electrical Distribution Systems$2.212B+9.3%
Engineered Components$1.657B+4.8%
Intelligent Systems$1.433B+0.6%

Platform metrics

Q1 FY2026
SegmentQ1 FY2026
Adjusted Revenue Growth (organic)1%

Profitability

Q1 FY2026
SegmentQ1 FY2026
Adjusted EBITDA$752 million
Adjusted EBITDA Margin14.8%
Adjusted Operating Income$562 million
Adjusted Operating Income Margin11.0%

Other KPIs

Q1 FY2026
SegmentQ1 FY2026
North America Revenue Growth7%
EMEA Revenue Growth-7%
Asia Pacific Revenue Growth3%

Management tone

Tariff resilience → consumer demand caution → amplified trade tensions → quantified hedging → Middle East commodity inflation as the new named drag

The macro vocabulary has rotated again. Three quarters ago semiconductors were the unsized risk; last quarter management converted that into a managed line item with 12 weeks of inventory and quantified DRAM exposure. This quarter the new named drag is Middle East–conflict-driven commodity and resin inflation, with management stating that "we're experiencing a meaningful increase in input costs, broadly related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East" and that input costs now exceed the prior guidance assumption. The pattern across four quarters is the same: a fresh, specific, geopolitically-anchored cost line surfaces each print and gets folded into the existing performance-offset narrative. The market should expect the next variant of this risk to surface next quarter — and management's resilience-claim has so far held, but the cumulative drag is growing.

The portfolio narrative has flipped from "EDS as core integrated business" to "New Aptiv as pure-play edge intelligence provider," with management stating they are "positioned to benefit from the sharper focus resulting from the completion of our strategic portfolio evolution." The "sharper focus" phrasing implicitly concedes the prior portfolio lacked it — a reframing of years of mixed-portfolio strategy as transitional rather than optimal. Read against the Wind River impairment two quarters ago, the spin completion this quarter, and the multi-end-market push, management is now publicly underwriting a different company than the one it was defending eighteen months ago.

Non-automotive has been escalated from optionality to strategic pillar. Q3 carried the Wind River writedown and a defensive posture; Q4 quantified non-auto at "a quarter of the business"; this quarter management leans further in, framing "high single-digit revenue growth in non-automotive markets and double-digit revenue growth across our software and services product portfolio" as the strategic growth driver. The pivot from automotive-centric to multi-end-market is the most consistent multi-quarter trend in management's narrative — and is now the primary defense of the FY +4% organic growth midpoint when Q1 FY2026 printed at +1%.

China has been re-described from "challenged but stabilizing" to inflection-point-approaching, with management citing the Q2 2025 program cancellation comp anniversarying out and new program launches ramping. That is a stronger forward statement than the "abating into next year" language from Q3. However, the underlying Q1 data is weaker than the rhetoric: China was -2% within Total Aptiv Asia Pacific, and New Aptiv Asia Pacific overall was -5%. The second half of FY2026 carries a meaningful China-recovery dependency, and management's H2 China claim is being underwritten against a softer Q1 baseline than the Total Aptiv +3% headline implies.

Bookings posted the cleanest forward signal of the quarter. Kevin Clark cited $7B of Total Aptiv new business awards, and in his subsequent New Aptiv–focused remarks quantified Q1 customer awards at $4.6B, up ~15% vs. the 2025 quarterly average, including ~$900M with non-automotive customers. Management's full-year statement of "2026 bookings of more than 20 billion" for New Aptiv stand-alone is now anchored to a concrete Q1 starting point — the $4.6B run rate, if sustained, supports the $20B+ target with margin. The +15% New Aptiv quarterly bookings cadence is the first quantitative beat against the post-spin commercial narrative.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Post-separation portfolio optimization and focus on intelligence-at-the-edgeMulti-end-market expansion (robotics, aerospace, data centers, energy storage)China growth inflection with local OEM penetration and export platform winsCommodity and FX headwinds requiring operational offsets and customer pass-throughsSoftware and services as high-growth, margin-accretive businessSupply chain resilience as competitive differentiator in volatile macro environment

Risks management surfaced:

Escalation of Middle East conflict amplifying commodity and resin cost inflationCustomer-specific production disruptions (North American OEM supply chain fire impact extending into H2)China vehicle production volatility and program cancellation risksFX headwinds despite year-over-year positive contributionProgram launch timing delays, particularly in China markets

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q1 FY2026 print against the $4.95–5.15B / $1.55–1.75 EPS guide — Revenue printed at $5.09B, inside the guide range and $64M below the high end. EPS landed in the upper half at $1.71 and adjusted EBITDA of $752M landed in the upper half of $715–765M. Performance initiatives and mix supported the EBITDA line despite commodity headwinds running above the prior guide assumption. With organic growth at just +1% in Q1 FY2026 vs. the FY +4% midpoint, the FY revenue framework now requires acceleration in H2 that wasn't visible this quarter. Status: Resolved — revenue in range, EBITDA/EPS upper half.
FY2026 operating cash flow conversion ex-separation — The press release reaffirmed FY free cash flow of $650–850M (midpoint $750M, matching the Q4 framework) and Q1 FY2026 FCF of -$362M reflects seasonal working capital plus separation costs. Management flagged an additional ~$100M of separation costs for Q2 FY2026. With three quarters left to deliver ~$1.1B of FCF to hit the midpoint, the cushion is tight but not yet broken — ex-separation conversion appears intact at this stage but Q2 FY2026 will be the cleaner test.
Continue monitoring
Bookings cadence into the FY2026 target — Total Aptiv Q1 FY2026 new business awards of $7B and New Aptiv Q1 FY2026 customer awards of $4.6B (+15% vs. 2025 quarterly average, ~$900M non-auto) were disclosed. The post-spin reframing is "more than 20 billion" for New Aptiv stand-alone, and the $4.6B Q1 cadence supports the $20B+ trajectory. Status: Resolved positively for Q1; full-year delivery remains the test.
DRAM pricing pass-through evidence — Management did not isolate DRAM, but flagged commodity headwinds (Middle East–related) as exceeding prior guidance and reiterated reliance on customer pass-throughs and performance offsets. The DRAM-specific pass-through case has not yet shown up positively in the gross margin line. Status: Resolved negatively at the gross margin level, with DRAM-specific timing still pending.
Asia/China stabilization — Headline Total Aptiv Asia Pacific printed +3% YoY, but this masks a China decline of -2% and a New Aptiv Asia Pacific result of -5%. Management's forward statement on China growth for calendar 2026 and references to lapping the Q2 2025 program cancellations point to expected H2 improvement, but the Q1 New Aptiv data does not yet show stabilization at the go-forward perimeter. Status: Continue monitoring — thesis depends on H2 ramp.
Spin execution timeline and stranded-cost update — Separation closed in Q1 FY2026 as planned. FY2026 New Aptiv guide is now the reporting perimeter, with ~$100M of separation costs flagged for Q2 FY2026. Per the CFO, New Aptiv is burdened by $70M in annualized stranded costs on day one of the EDS separation, which management is working to fully eliminate by the end of 2027. Status: Resolved positively — timeline executed, stranded-cost figure refreshed to $70M annualized.

What to watch into next quarter

Q2 FY2026 print against the $3.2–3.4B revenue / $1.30–1.50 EPS guide — this is the first clean New Aptiv stand-alone quarter and establishes the baseline that every future YoY comparison will reference. A print at the low end would signal organic growth is decelerating, not seasonal.

Organic adjusted revenue growth trajectory — Q1 FY2026 came in at +1% vs. the FY +4% midpoint. Q2 FY2026 needs to show acceleration or the FY framework requires an H2 ramp that is increasingly back-end loaded.

Gross margin sequential — watch whether Middle East commodity pressure deepens the drag in Q2 FY2026 or whether customer pass-throughs begin to land. A second consecutive weak print would compress the FY 18.6% EBITDA margin guide.

EMEA / New Aptiv Europe trajectory — Total Aptiv EMEA at -7% and New Aptiv Europe at -5% in Q1 FY2026. A second consecutive negative-mid-single-digits print on the New Aptiv perimeter would suggest the next-gen program ramp issue is more than transitory.

New Aptiv Asia Pacific / China — New Aptiv Asia Pacific at -5% and China at -2% set a softer baseline than the Total Aptiv +3% headline suggests. Management's H2 China commitment now needs visible sequential improvement in Q2 FY2026.

Intelligent Systems growth — at +0.6% reported / -1% adjusted in Q1 FY2026, the segment that is supposed to be the high-margin, software-led growth engine needs to show the lap of the 2025 China program cancellations and the recovery of the supplier-fire-impacted North American customer in the back half. Watch whether double-digit software/services growth shows up at the segment line or remains buried in commentary.

Q2 FY2026 bookings disclosure against the $20B+ FY2026 New Aptiv commitment — Q1 FY2026 came in at $4.6B (+15% vs. 2025 quarterly average); Q2 FY2026 needs to sustain that cadence to underwrite the full-year target.

Stranded-cost progress — $70M annualized at separation, with full elimination targeted by end-2027; watch for interim disclosure on the run-rate trajectory and on whether Q2 FY2026 separation costs land at the ~$100M flagged.

Sources

  1. Aptiv Q1 2026 press release, exhibit 99.1 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1521332/000152133226000044/aptvq12026ex991.htm
  2. Aptiv Q1 2026 earnings conference call transcript (prepared remarks), May 5, 2026 — Aptiv Investor Relations, ir.aptiv.com.

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