Press release
Stockholm, Sweden, April 17, 2026
(NYSE: ALV and SSE: ALIV.sdb)
Q1 2026: Solid operational performance and sales
Financial highlights Q1 2026
$2,753 million net sales, increase of 6.8%
0.8% organic sales growth*
8.6% operating margin, 8.9% adj. operating margin*
$1.88 diluted EPS, 12% decrease
Full year 2026 guidance
Around 0% organic sales growth
Around 3% positive FX impact on net sales
Around 10.5-11% adjusted operating margin
Around $1.2 billion operating cash flow
All change figures in this release compare to the same period of the previous year except when stated otherwise.
Key business developments in the first quarter of 2026
- Net sales increased organically* by 0.8%, which was 4.2pp higher than the global LVP decrease of 3.4% (S&P Global Apr 2026) driven mainly by strong progress in Asia. Regional and customer LVP mix is estimated to have impacted sales positively by about 1.5pp, while tariff compensations added around 0.5pp. Our organic sales growth* outperformed LVP significantly in China (15pp) and Asia excl. China (6.8pp) and performed in line in EMEA and underperformed in Americas (4.5pp). Our strong performance in Asia excl. China was mainly due to India, where we outperformed by 28pp, driven by continued strong market growth in safety content per vehicle, while our China performance was mainly driven by further improved presence with Chinese OEMs.
- Profitability was strong. Supported by successful execution of cost reductions and positive FX effects, gross profit increased by 10%. Operating income decreased by 6.7% and adjusted operating income* decreased by 3.9%, impacted by adverse FX translation effects and temporary lower R,D&E reimbursements as well as that Q1 2025 was positively impacted by one-time effects. Operating margin was 8.6% and adjusted operating margin* was 8.9%. ROCE was 22.2% and adjusted ROCE* was 22.9%.
- Operating cash flow was negative $76 million, mainly due to an increase in working capital due to strong sales in March, temporary effects expected to reverse later in the year and the high level of accounts payable at the end of 2025. Free operating cash flow* thereby decreased to negative $159 million. The leverage ratio* was unchanged compared to a year ago at 1.3x, below our target limit of 1.5x. In the quarter, a dividend of $0.87 per share was paid.
*For Non-GAAP measures see enclosed reconciliation tables.
Key Figures
| (Dollars in millions, except per share data) | Q1 2026 | Q1 2025 | Change |
| Net sales | $2,753 | $2,578 | 6.8% |
| Operating income | 237 | 254 | (6.7)% |
| Adjusted operating income1) | 245 | 255 | (3.9)% |
| Operating margin | 8.6% | 9.9% | (1.2)pp |
| Adjusted operating margin1) | 8.9% | 9.9% | (1.0)pp |
| Earnings per share - diluted | 1.88 | 2.14 | (12)% |
| Adjusted earnings per share - diluted1) | 2.05 | 2.15 | (4.7)% |
| Operating cash flow | (76) | 77 | n/a |
| Return on capital employed2) | 22.2% | 25.6% | (3.3)pp |
| Adjusted return on capital employed1,2) | 22.9% | 25.6% | (2.7)pp |
| Dividends paid | (65) | (54) | 20% |
| Share repurchases | - | (50) | (100)% |
| 1) Excluding effects from capacity alignments and antitrust related matters. Non-GAAP measure, see reconciliation table. 2) Annualized operating income and income from equity method investments, relative to average capital employed. |
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Comments from Mikael Bratt, President & CEO
The first quarter turned out better than we had anticipated, with strong sales in March. Our operational performance exceeded our expectations, with solid productivity improvements, partly supported by reduced call-off volatility. Underlying profitability improved, with gross profit increasing by 10%, although adjusted operating income was slightly lower due to temporary lower R,D&E reimbursements and the one-time income in Q1 last year.
Our positive trend in Asia continued, with strong growth in India, South Korea and China. In China, we continued to grow faster than LVP, especially with the Chinese OEMs, outperforming by 40pp. In India, we grew sales organically by 38%, reflecting mainly the trend of increased safety content in vehicles in India, as well as the continued high level of LVP growth. We continue to expand our production capabilities in India, investing in additional inflator production capacity for future growth.
I am pleased that we in the quarter introduced our first airbag for motorcycles, as well as our first wearable airbag solution for motorcycle riders, building on our long term strategy of growing business outside our traditional core business.
The quarter was characterized by ongoing and new geopolitical challenges. At this point, it is difficult to fully assess the likely impacts, as the situation remains fluid. We continue to carefully monitor the developments while preparing for various scenarios, including different mitigation strategies.
The business environment is uncertain but our current best estimate for the remainder of the year is a re-iteration of our full year 2026 guidance of about unchanged organic sales and an adjusted operating margin of around 10.5-11%. This is based on the assumption that LVP will decline by around 1%.
Our balance sheet is healthy, with debt leverage of 1.3x, well below our target limit of 1.5x. Based on our guidance for sales and adjusted operating margin, we continue to expect strong cash flow for the year, which supports our ambitions to provide attractive shareholder returns, including to repurchase shares of $300-500 million in 2026.
Next Report
Autoliv intends to publish the quarterly earnings report for the second quarter of 2026 on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Inquiries: Investors and Analysts
Anders Trapp
Vice President Investor Relations
Tel +46 (0)709 578 171
Henrik Kaar
Director Investor Relations
Tel +46 (0)709 578 114
Inquiries: Media
Gabriella Etemad
Senior Vice President Communications
Tel +46 (0)70 612 6424
Autoliv, Inc. is obliged to make this information public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the VP of Investor Relations set out above, at 12.00 CET on April 17, 2026.