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

Q1 revenue of $5.09B (+5% YoY) landed above the $4.95-5.15B prior guide midpoint, adjusted EBITDA of $752M cleared the midpoint of the $715-765M range (though down ~1% from $758M YoY, with margin compressing 90bps to 14.8% from 15.7% on 180bps of FX/commodity headwinds), and adjusted EPS of $1.71 printed $0.06 above the $1.65 midpoint of the $1.55-1.75 range. The headline is that the FY2026 guide was "maintained" — but only after being restated for the Versigent (EDS) separation, so the new $12.8-13.2B revenue and $5.70-6.10 EPS ranges are New Aptiv standalone and not comparable to the prior combined $21.12-21.82B / $8.15-8.75. Embedded in the maintained guide: incremental commodity inflation from the Middle East conflict, an explicit element of conservatism on China launch timing, and a Q2 revenue guide of $3.2-3.4B that reflects the post-separation scope rather than operational deterioration.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q1 FY2026

$1.71

Revenue

Q1 FY2026

$5.09B

+5.0% YoY

Free cash flow

Q1 FY2026

$-0.36B

Operating margin

Q1 FY2026

7.4%

Key financials

Q1 FY2026

Metric	Q1 FY2026	YoY	Q4 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$5.09B	+5.0%	$5.15B	-1.3%
EPS	$1.71	—	$1.86	-8.1%
Operating margin	7.4%	—	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

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Revenue	Q1 FY2026	$4,950 - $5,150 million	$5,086 million	in-line (midpoint $5,050M vs actual $5,086M)	Beat
Adjusted Net Income Per Share	Q1 FY2026	$1.55 - $1.75	$1.71	in-line (within range, near midpoint of $1.65)	Beat
Adjusted EBITDA	Q1 FY2026	$715 - $765 million	$752 million	+$2M above midpoint	Beat
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	Q1 FY2026	14.7%	14.8%	+10bps above guide	Missed

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Revenue	Q2 FY2026	$3,200 - $3,400 million	-38% to -35%

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Revenue	FY2026	$21,120 - $21,820 million	$12,800 - $13,200 million	Reflects New Aptiv Pro Forma only; prior guidance included Versigent Pro Forma ($9.1-9.4B). Not a direct guidance cut—structural change in scope post-Versigent separation.	Lowered
Adjusted Net Income Per Share	FY2026	$8.15 - $8.75	$5.70 - $6.10	Reflects New Aptiv standalone; prior guidance was combined pro forma. Structural change post-Versigent separation.	Lowered
Adjusted EBITDA	FY2026	$3,385 - $3,585 million	$2,360 - $2,480 million	Reflects New Aptiv Pro Forma only vs. prior combined guidance.	Lowered
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	FY2026	16.2%	18.6%	+240bps	Raised

Segment performance

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026	YoY
Electrical Distribution Systems	$2.212B	+9.0%
Engineered Components	$1.657B	+5.0%
Intelligent Systems	$1.433B	+1.0%

Platform metrics

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026
Adjusted Revenue Growth (organic)	1%

Profitability

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026
Adjusted EBITDA	$752 million
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	14.8%
Adjusted Operating Income	$562 million
Adjusted Operating Margin	11.0%

Other KPIs

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026
North America Revenue Growth	7%
Asia Pacific Revenue Growth	3%
EMEA Revenue Decline	-7%

Management tone

Q2 demand caution → Q3 record beat with defensive framing → Q4 multi-year macro hardening → Q1 explicit conservatism plus EDS defense and M&A dependency.

Three quarters ago non-automotive diversification was framed as an emerging optionality; this quarter it became the structural growth pillar. Kevin's verbatim: "roughly one quarter of our business is in markets outside of automotive," with high-single-digit non-automotive growth in Q1 versus the +1% total Aptiv adjusted top-line (with New Aptiv weaker on customer mix). The shift signals that management is now anchoring the New Aptiv equity story to non-automotive trajectory because the automotive base is stuck in low-single-digits — and the diversification narrative has graduated from sidebar to centerpiece.

The commodity-inflation framing has hardened across four quarters. Q2 framed inflation as manageable; Q3 added "elevated copper prices"; Q4 added DRAM/semiconductor pass-throughs; this quarter Varun acknowledged "we are starting to see incremental inflationary pressures on materials as a result of the conflict in the Middle East" and Kevin warned "should the current situation persist, it could amplify these pressures from a macroeconomic perspective." That's a fourth consecutive quarter of escalating input-cost language, and management's own hedge — that customer pass-throughs and performance initiatives will offset — is itself doing more work each quarter. The 180bps of Q1 FX/commodity headwind to EBITDA margin vs. management's 120bps forecast is the quantitative tell.

The EDS defense is new and unusual. Kevin spent material call time defending EDS competitively, inserting verbatim GM quotes into prepared remarks: "EDS is the gold standard for wire harnesses and EDS is our strategic wire harness supplier." Customer-quote insertions in prepared remarks are atypical post-separation positioning — they signal that competitive pressure on the soon-to-be-separated business has surfaced as an investor concern that management feels required to address.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Portfolio diversification into non-automotive (aerospace, robotics, industrials, energy storage, data centers)Commodity/FX headwind escalation from Middle East conflict requiring customer pass-throughsChina market recovery expected H2 2026 with program launches offsetting 2025 cancellationsSoftware and services double-digit growth as margin accretion driverSupply chain resilience as competitive differentiator and market share leverM&A dependency for scaling non-automotive revenue targets

Risks management surfaced:

Middle East conflict could amplify input cost pressures with difficult-to-forecast macroeconomic impactChina production schedules 'more fluid' and subject to rapid changesProgram launch timing delays (seen in Q1, particularly China) could impact H2 ramp assumptionsCustomer mix headwinds at specific OEMs (unnamed North American OEM, top China OEM production reductions)Uncertainty in ability to fully pass through commodity cost inflation to all customers

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q1 FY2026 adjusted EBITDA margin vs. 14.7% guide — Landed at 14.8%, 10bps above the guide but 90bps below the 15.7% prior-year print, with 180bps of FX/commodity headwind (vs. the 120bps management had forecasted) the dominant drag. The FY2026 New Aptiv standalone margin of 18.6% remains the target; achieving it from the Q1 starting point implies H2 margins in the 19%+ range for RemainCo. With the +280bps step-up implied by the Q2 17.6% guide, the H2 acceleration is real and front-loaded into the calendar. Status: Resolved positively on guide, but YoY margin compression is the watch-item

Customer semiconductor pass-through evidence — No specific contractual disclosures were made on memory/DRAM pass-throughs. Management broadened the framing to all commodities (now including Middle East-driven materials) with the qualitative claim that they "expect to continue offsetting these macro headwinds through performance initiatives and, where appropriate, customer pass-throughs." The mechanism remains qualitative.

Continue monitoring

1H 2026 bookings landing — TotalActive Q1 bookings were $7B; New Aptiv bookings totaled $4.6B, an increase of ~15% from the 2025 quarterly average, split roughly $2.4B Intelligent Systems and $2.2B Engineered Components, with ~$900M from non-automotive customers. Management guided to >$20B in 2026 bookings for New Aptiv.

Resolved positively

Intelligent Systems (ASUX/RemainCo software lever) trajectory — Segment grew +1% YoY, identical to the +1% in Q3 and +3% in Q4. Management cited software and services growing double-digits as a margin-accretion driver, but the segment in aggregate remains stuck in low-single-digits. China program launches expected in H2 2026 are the bull case but require execution.

Resolved negatively

EV program cancellation recoveries — Not specifically addressed in the materials provided. The FY guide was maintained at the New Aptiv scope, implying that the embedded recovery assumptions from Q4 remain intact, but management did not provide a status update on negotiations.

Continue monitoring

Vehicle production assumption durability — Management confirmed full-year vehicle production roughly in line with S&P at down ~2%, with H1 down 2% and H2 down 1%, embedding the implied first-half-to-second-half improvement. Kevin's acknowledgment of "small delays and launches in China" is the early indication that the conservatism baked into FY is being put to use.

Continue monitoring

What to watch into next quarter

Q2 FY2026 adjusted EBITDA margin vs. 17.6% guide — the +280bps step-up from Q1's 14.8% is the largest sequential margin lift in management's framework; an in-line print would validate the 18.6% FY trajectory, while a miss to the downside would suggest the H2 ramp is steeper than achievable.

M&A announcement cadence — Kevin telegraphed bolt-on closures "during calendar year 2026"; a Q2 print without a transaction announcement would push the non-automotive scale story into a 2027 problem.

Intelligent Systems segment growth — the +1% trajectory is now three quarters running; without inflection toward mid-single-digits or better, the software-defined-vehicle margin thesis for New Aptiv loses credibility.

Middle East commodity pass-through evidence — specifically whether the Q2 EBITDA margin guide holds against escalating material inflation, and any disclosed dollar-value of pricing recoveries booked.

Europe and APAC decline durability — both New Aptiv regions printed -5%; whether these are transitory customer-mix issues (as management framed) or structural step-downs matters for the FY 4% organic assumption.

Stranded cost elimination progress — the $70M annualized burden targeted for full elimination by end of 2027 implies a multi-quarter cost-out program; any Q2 disclosure on run-rate eliminations would tighten the margin walk.

Sources

Aptiv Q1 2026 press release, exhibit 99.1 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1521332/000152133226000044/aptvq12026ex991.htm
Aptiv Q1 2026 earnings call commentary (prepared remarks and analyst Q&A with Kevin Clark and Varun Laroyia)

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