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Aston Martin Lagonda (LSE:AML) shares have continued to make headlines over the past two years. Investors were sold a fairly smooth path to profitability, but that simply hasn’t been the case.
In 2024, the company reported a pretax loss of £289.1m, widening from £239.8m in 2023. This was reported alongside a decline in revenue by 3% to £1.58bn. It was a painful year for the iconic carmaker, as wholesale volumes also fell 9%, reflecting supply chain disruptions and weaker demand in key markets like China.
Despite these setbacks, Aston Martin managed to achieve a rare positive cash flow in the final quarter of 2024. New product launches and improved sales of high-margin models drove this achievement.
Failing to impress the market
The company’s share price has mirrored its financial struggles, plummeting by over 96% since its flotation in 2018. As of April 2025, shares are trading near their 52-week low of 56p, down significantly from their year-peak of 172.8p in April 2024.
Rising debt levels, which ballooned to £1.16bn at the end of 2024, have compounded Aston Martin’s challenges. To address these financial woes, the company has cut jobs and scaled back production plans. Additionally, it has received continued financial backing from Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree Consortium, which recently increased its stake to 33% through a £52.5m investment.
Another promise
In 2023, Aston Martin Lagonda set ambitious financial targets as part of its turnaround strategy. Executive Chair Lawrence Stroll planned to achieve £2bn in revenue and £500m in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, dividends, and amortisation) by 2024/25.
Initially, these goals were tied to selling 10,000 vehicles annually. However, CFO Doug Lafferty later expressed confidence that the company could meet these objectives with just 8,000 units per year.
However, this just hasn’t happened. The business is still making promising though. New CEO Adrian Hallmark has outlined plans for a “materially improved” financial performance in 2025, with expectations of positive adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow in the second half of the year. The launch of the Valhalla, Aston Martin’s first mid-engine plug-in hybrid, is expected to play a crucial role in this turnaround.
Now, the group plans to achieve revenue of £2.5bn and adjusted EBIT of £400m by 2027/28. However, given its historic struggles, it’s unclear whether it can acheive these targets.
High risk, high reward
I had previously been an investor in Aston Martin, but it’s not for me anymore. Aston Martin’s journey remains fraught with risks. What’s more, the company ships around 2,000 vehicles to the Americas on average. Trump’s tariffs put these numbers in peril. Finally, while management is taking steps to stabilise operations and improve profitability, the company’s long history of financial troubles and increasing reliance on external funding are huge concerns. I do think it’ll survive the year, but it needs a turnaround to guarantee its future.
