Autoliv narrows its 2026 margin outlook to the low end, around 10.5 percent, as third-quarter sales slip to $2.69bn

Autoliv has given up on the upper half of its profitability range for the year. The Stockholm-based maker of airbags and seatbelts said on Friday that it now expects an adjusted operating margin of around 10.5 percent in 2026, the bottom of the 10.5 to 11 percent range it had been guiding to, according to its third-quarter report filed with the SEC.

Net sales fell 0.5 percent to $2,693m in the quarter, and organic sales dropped 1.1 percent while global light vehicle production fell 1.9 percent. Diluted earnings came to $2.13 a share, down 6.8 percent, or $2.19 on an adjusted basis. The adjusted operating margin was 9.7 percent, against 10.0 percent a year earlier.

Asia carried the quarter. Chief executive Mikael Bratt said sales in India grew by nearly 30 percent and sales to Chinese carmakers by more than 20 percent, but that rising costs for raw materials and logistics, flooding in Thailand and less reliable customer orders had added headwinds through the year. Raw materials alone cost about $42m gross in the quarter, and the company puts the full-year figure at around $120m.

The company kept its forecasts of roughly flat organic sales and about $1.2bn of operating cash flow. It bought back 1.23 million shares for $150m in the quarter.