Porsche: The Volume Ferrari RefusesWide moat

Ferrari (RACE) — moat facet

Porsche makes roughly twenty cars for every one Ferrari makes, and that is the entire difference between them.

Porsche makes roughly eighteen cars for every one Ferrari makes, and that is the entire difference between them.

Ferrari against a volume premium maker13,640Ferrari shipments 202529.5%Ferrari EBIT margin22.4%Ferrari net margin440 carsFerrari GreaterChina H1 2026Porsche ships into the hundreds of thousands. China is ~6% of Ferrari shipments.
Roughly twenty cars for every one Ferrari makes, and only one of them is a car you can walk in and buy.

Ferrari shipped 13,640 cars in 2025.1 Porsche delivered 122,306 in the first half of 2026 alone, down 16%, while Ferrari's half-year shipments fell 4% to 6,802.2 Both are profitable, both are desirable, both trade on heritage and motorsport — and only one of them is a car you can walk in and buy.

The distinction shows up in the margin. Ferrari earned a 29.5% operating margin and 22.4% net margin in 2025.3 Volume premium manufacturers earn a fraction of that, because at scale a car is priced against alternatives rather than against desire.

Porsche is also the live experiment in what happens when a maker of desirable cars becomes dependent on volume: electrification decisions taken for a large range, exposure to a Chinese market that turned, and the margin compression that follows when supply is not short. Ferrari's Greater China shipments were 440 cars in the first half of 2026 — about 6% of the total — which makes the same shock close to irrelevant here.4

The genuine competitive overlap is narrow: a buyer choosing between a 911 and a Roma exists, and Ferrari does not always win.

The measure is operating margin. As long as the gap stays this wide, the two companies are in different businesses.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Porsche has had a difficult period on electrification and China while Ferrari raised guidance twice. The gap in operating margin — 29.5% against a fraction of that at volume premium makers — has widened, not closed.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Deliveries, first half: Ferrari against Porsche
6,802 (−4%) against 122,306 (−16%) in H1 2026

Porsche sells eighteen times as many cars and lost four times as much volume in the same half; if Ferrari's shipments ever fell as fast as a volume maker's, the scarcity model would be failing.

Source: Ferrari Q2 2026 release; Porsche AG, H1 2026 deliveries release ↗
References
  1. ReportedFerrari shipped 13,640 cars in 2025.
    Ferrari N.V., Form 20-F FY2025 — Item 5, Operating and Financial Review. Total shipments of 13,640 cars against 13,752 in 2024 and 13,663 in 2023; shipment figures exclude strictly limited racing cars such as those in the XX Programme and the 499P Modificata, as well as one-off, pre-owned and other special sales. Net revenues of EUR7,146M, up 7.0%. Net revenues from cars and spare parts were EUR6,005M, an increase of EUR277M or 4.8% on EUR5,728M in 2024 and EUR5,119M in 2023, attributed primarily to a richer product and country mix as well as a higher contribution from personalization, more than offsetting the lower contribution from the Daytona SP3 whose limited series deliveries concluded in the third quarter of 2025; foreign currency effects including hedging were negative. Sponsorship, commercial and brand revenues were EUR820M, up 22.4% from EUR670M and EUR572M in the two prior years, comprising sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari share of the Formula 1 World Championship commercial revenues distributed to teams, and lifestyle, merchandising, licensing and royalty income; other net revenues were EUR321M, up EUR42M. Selling, general and administrative costs were EUR642M in 2025, an increase of EUR81M or 14.5% on EUR561M, and 9.0% of net revenues against 8.4%, attributed primarily to racing expenses and brand investments as well as organizational development. Net revenues by year run EUR3,105M (2016), EUR3,417M, EUR3,420M, EUR3,766M, EUR3,460M (2020), EUR4,271M, EUR5,095M, EUR5,970M, EUR6,677M and EUR7,146M (2025). — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02 · source ↗
  2. ReportedPorsche delivered 122,306 in the first half of 2026 alone, down 16%, while Ferrari's half-year shipments fell 4% to 6,802.
    Porsche AG, press release, 'Porsche delivers 122,306 sports cars in the first half of the year' (July 2026) — 122,306 vehicles delivered in H1 2026 against 146,391 a year earlier, down 16%. — H1 2026 · publ. 2026-07 · source ↗
  3. Moat Explorer calcFerrari earned a 29.5% operating margin and 22.4% net margin in 2025. Volume premium manufacturers earn a fraction of that, because at scale a car is priced against alternatives rather than against desire.
    Ferrari N.V., Form 20-F FY2025 — Item 5, Operating and Financial Review. Total shipments of 13,640 cars against 13,752 in 2024 and 13,663 in 2023; shipment figures exclude strictly limited racing cars such as those in the XX Programme and the 499P Modificata, as well as one-off, pre-owned and other special sales. Net revenues of EUR7,146M, up 7.0%. Net revenues from cars and spare parts were EUR6,005M, an increase of EUR277M or 4.8% on EUR5,728M in 2024 and EUR5,119M in 2023, attributed primarily to a richer product and country mix as well as a higher contribution from personalization, more than offsetting the lower contribution from the Daytona SP3 whose limited series deliveries concluded in the third quarter of 2025; foreign currency effects including hedging were negative. Sponsorship, commercial and brand revenues were EUR820M, up 22.4% from EUR670M and EUR572M in the two prior years, comprising sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari share of the Formula 1 World Championship commercial revenues distributed to teams, and lifestyle, merchandising, licensing and royalty income; other net revenues were EUR321M, up EUR42M. Selling, general and administrative costs were EUR642M in 2025, an increase of EUR81M or 14.5% on EUR561M, and 9.0% of net revenues against 8.4%, attributed primarily to racing expenses and brand investments as well as organizational development. Net revenues by year run EUR3,105M (2016), EUR3,417M, EUR3,420M, EUR3,766M, EUR3,460M (2020), EUR4,271M, EUR5,095M, EUR5,970M, EUR6,677M and EUR7,146M (2025). — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02 · source ↗
  4. ReportedFerrari's Greater China shipments were 440 cars in the first half of 2026 — about 6% of the total — which makes the same shock close to irrelevant here. The genuine competitive overlap is narrow: a buyer choosing between a 911 and a Roma exists, and Ferrari does not always win.
    Ferrari N.V., second-quarter 2026 results press release (filed with the SEC as an exhibit to Form 6-K). Net revenues of EUR1,938M, up 8% and up 11% at constant currency; EBIT of EUR605M at a 31.2% margin, up 10% and up 16% at constant currency; EBITDA of EUR755M at a 39.0% margin; net profit of EUR463M; diluted earnings per share of EUR2.62; industrial free cash flow of EUR276M, up 39%. For the first half, net revenues of EUR3,786M (up 6%), EBIT of EUR1,153M at a 30.5% margin, net profit of EUR876M, diluted EPS of EUR4.95 and industrial free cash flow of EUR929M (up 14%). Second-quarter shipments totalled 3,366 cars against 3,494, with EMEA up 210 to 1,856, the Americas down 206 to 787, Greater China down 89 to 185 and the rest of Asia-Pacific down 43 to 538; first-half shipments were 6,802 against 7,087, with EMEA 3,314 (down 33), the Americas 1,817 (down 198), Greater China 440 (down 71) and the rest of Asia-Pacific 1,231 (up 17). Results were attributed to personalisations and mix, with deliveries of the 12Cilindri, 12Cilindri Spider, Purosangue and 296 Speciale families rising while the 296 GTS, Roma Spider and SF90 XX families phased out and the Amalfi and 849 Testarossa ramped; racing revenue rose on sponsorship and on the supply of power units to other Formula 1 teams. Full-year 2026 guidance was raised to net revenues of about EUR7.60bn from about EUR7.50bn, adjusted EBITDA of at least EUR2.97bn (at least 39.0% of revenue), adjusted EBIT of at least EUR2.26bn (at least 29.5%), adjusted diluted EPS of at least EUR9.68 and industrial free cash flow of at least EUR1.55bn, on stronger personalizations than initially expected and lower than anticipated currency headwinds, net of hedges. Chief executive Benedetto Vigna stated that the order book entirely covers 2027. More than EUR800M was returned during the quarter — a EUR599M dividend instalment and EUR209M of share repurchases — taking the company from net industrial cash of EUR388M at 31 March 2026 to net industrial debt of EUR131M at 30 June 2026. Trailing twelve-month figures to June 2026 are net revenues of EUR7,353M, net profit of EUR1,639M and diluted EPS of EUR9.23. — Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-07 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026