Feb 10 (Reuters) – Harley-Davidson reported a wider loss in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, as a consumer pullback on big-ticket spending continued to sap sales at the storied motorcycle maker, pushing its shares down more than 10% in premarket trading.
Stubborn inflation and high borrowing costs have squeezed household budgets, prompting Americans to rethink discretionary purchases such as motorcycles.
Harley was already feeling the strain of softer volumes, relying partly on cost cuts to shore up margins and demand for its higher-margin touring and custom motorbikes from wealthier customers.
The company’s global fourth-quarter sales fell 1%. It ended 2025 with about 132,500 units, down 12% from a year earlier.
“We close out a challenging year for the company, we are taking deliberate actions to stabilize the business, restore dealer confidence, and align wholesale activity with retail demand, said Harley-Davidson CEO Artie Starrs.
Last year, the company announced a smaller, lower-priced “Sprint” model, slated for release in 2026, in hopes of drawing in entry-level riders. It has not given a firm launch date but expects the vehicle to have an entry price below $6,000.
Its cheapest U.S. model currently on sale is the Nightster, a smaller cruiser, starting at nearly $10,000.
Harley also had to contend with a broad range of U.S. tariffs on imports of crucial components such as semiconductors, which are used in modern motorbikes.
Industry strains stretched beyond Harley, with power-sports vehicle maker Polaris saying last year it would separate Indian Motorcycle, a rival to Harley, into a standalone company and sell a majority stake in the business to private equity firm Carolwood LP.
Harley’s gross margin fell by 3.8 percentage points in 2025, compared with the year earlier, hurt by tariffs and lower volumes.
It reported a net loss of $279 million, or $2.44 per share, for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $117 million, or 93 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts on average estimated a loss of $1.04 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Overall quarterly revenue dropped 28% to $496 million.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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