Antonio Filosa has been Stellantis CEO for less than a year, and the stock is down about 30%. Thursday is when he gets to explain how he plans to fix it.
Stellantis is holding a capital markets day at its North American headquarters near Detroit, with the plan expected to focus on key brands like Jeep and Ram in the U.S. and Fiat and Peugeot in Europe.
The pitch comes after Stellantis posted a 22.3 billion euro ($26.3 billion) net loss last year, much of it tied to a 22 billion euro restructuring out of all-electric vehicles. The automaker still hasn't given detailed 2026 guidance beyond mid-single digit revenue growth and low-single digit adjusted operating income margins.
Filosa has called 2026 the "year of execution," with investors expected to push for specifics on how he gets there.
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BofA Securities analyst Horst Schneider downgraded Stellantis to underperform last week, saying early restructuring efforts under Filosa are "starting to help" but haven't proven a sustainable turnaround.
Schneider's caution isn't unique to Stellantis, with the broader auto industry dealing with three big problems at once - AI investment pressure, fast-growing Chinese automakers, and U.S. tariffs. Stellantis has its own added issues, like lost market share, rocky supplier and dealer relationships, and a pulled-back EV strategy after years under former CEO Carlos Tavares.
Despite all of that, the average analyst rating on Stellantis remains overweight ahead of the event, according to FactSet. The story Filosa tells Thursday has to match what the stock has already priced in.
Most legacy automakers are trying to block Chinese rivals, while Filosa is doing the opposite. Stellantis already has partnerships with Leapmotor and Dongfeng, and on Wednesday the company announced an expanded deal with Dongfeng that moves from producing vehicles in China to a new European joint venture.
Stellantis is also exploring a U.S. product development collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover, the British carmaker owned by India's Tata.
That's a different playbook than what's coming out of Detroit. Instead of building everything in-house at scale, Filosa is using partnerships to fill product gaps and cut costs, with his broader cost program called the "Value Creation Program."
Stellantis owns 14 auto brands, and Filosa has hinted he won't treat them equally. He hasn't ruled out shrinking the portfolio either, especially for Italian nameplates like Alfa Romeo that have struggled in America.
Thursday's investor day is the first real test of whether the new strategy holds up. The stock has already priced in a recovery, and now the company has to deliver one.
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