Harley-Davidson’s direct-to-consumer electrical motorbike model LiveWire makes quite a lot of thrilling and fun-to-ride bikes, and if the model’s 2025 first quarter financials are something to go by, completely no one is shopping for them. In keeping with the report LiveWire offered simply 33 bikes throughout Q1’s 90 day interval, down 72% from the identical quarter final yr. Maybe potential electrical motorbike patrons both have already got one or they’re laying aside massive purchases till the present financial turmoil begins to ease up slightly. Bikes aren’t precisely a buying precedence when you do not know for those who’ll lose your job or your retirement account in a single day. Harley says the corporate’s gross sales woes are “pushed by a risky macroeconomic setting and general client uncertainty.” You possibly can say that once more.
I will totally admit to being a homer for LiveWire. I cherished the bike a lot once I attended the press launch occasion that I purchased my very own, and I nonetheless assume it is the perfect bike I’ve ever ridden. It is tough to say how lengthy LiveWire will live on if it prices The Motor Firm thousands and thousands of {dollars}. LiveWire as a model, together with its Stacyc “electrical stability cycles” for youths, solely managed to herald $3 million in income throughout the primary quarter of the yr, for an working lack of $20 million. For every of the bikes LiveWire offered between January 1 and March 31, it misplaced about $606,000. Yikes.
Just a few years in the past LiveWire mentioned it was aiming to promote 100,000 bikes per yr by 2026. It appeared optimistic again then, and downright inconceivable immediately.
Did Harley fare any higher?
Harley-Davidson, in the end occurring proper now, nonetheless managed to haul in $1.32 Billion in income throughout the primary quarter. That is a fairly huge fall off from the $1.73 Billion it introduced in throughout the identical interval final yr, however all issues thought of might have been rather a lot worse. Clearly a pointy drop in bike gross sales contributed to Harley’s state of affairs, as the corporate shipped simply 38,600 bikes in Q1 2025, versus the 57,700 bikes delivered in Q1 2024. H-D’s working earnings fell by a precipitous 51% yr over yr because of this.
Even with this huge drop in gross sales, Harley nonetheless managed to show a fairly important revenue, producing about $142 million in money earnings while you embody the extremely worthwhile in-house financing firm. The corporate used about $87 million of that money on inventory buybacks, re-purchasing about 3.4 million of its personal shares again. Even in troubled financial instances and years of declining market share, Harley is a severe cash maker. Go determine.
