Porsche AG Faces AGM Wrath Over Sluggish Shares While Goldman Sachs Sees Value in Luxury Shift

At Porsche's AGM, investors decry share price stagnation since 2022 IPO as CEO Leiters unveils 'Strategy 2035' pivoting to luxury. Analysts at Goldman, UBS, Barclays upgrade despite headwinds.

Porsche AG’s annual general meeting turned into a battleground this week, as institutional investors unloaded on management over a share price that has gone nowhere since the 2022 IPO — even as a growing chorus of analysts upgrades the stock. The contrast could hardly be starker: Ingo Speich of Deka Investment described the company’s post-listing performance as a “pile of wreckage,” while Goldman Sachs lifted its price target to €59 and flipped its rating to Buy.

The friction comes as CEO Michael Leiters lays out a long-term strategy that abandons volume in favour of exclusivity. Under the new “Strategy 2035,” Porsche will develop models priced above the Cayenne, cancel plans for a fully electric 911 — keeping the icon on combustion and hybrid power — and trim headcount in a socially responsible manner. The luxury pivot is designed to offset heavy near-term headwinds: transformation costs of nearly €1 billion, a similar-sized hit from looming US tariffs, and the expense of an ageing model mix.

Leiters reaffirmed the 2026 operating margin target of 5.5% to 7.5%, a goal that looks ambitious given the current squeeze. On the AGM floor, Speich was blunt, blaming former CEO Oliver Blume’s dual role at both Porsche and Volkswagen for “clearly missed targets, inadequate steering and governance that failed to intervene for too long.” Blume remains CEO of VW until end-2025. But the criticism is largely symbolic: all voting ordinary shares are held by Volkswagen AG and Porsche SE, while the roughly 455 million non-voting preferred shares traded on the market carry no say in board decisions.

Those preferred shares receive a dividend of €1.01 apiece — a penny more than the €1.00 for ordinary holders. The total payout amounts to €916 million. For many observers, that distribution seems out of step with last year’s steep profit decline.

At the close of trading, the preferred stock stood at €47.62, roughly 5.8% below a 52-week high of €50.56 set on June 16. On a year-to-date basis, the shares are essentially flat. Still, the stock trades about 9% above its 200-day moving average, offering a modest technical bright spot.

Goldman Sachs analyst Christian Frenes argues that the structural headwinds are already reflected in the share price. He points to two overlooked catalysts: higher average transaction prices from a richer model mix, and indirect cost benefits. The bank lifted its target from €39 to €59. UBS followed suit on June 8, raising its own price target from €40 to €60, citing a more balanced product lineup after an earlier overcommitment to EVs, better execution under the new management, and a leaner cost base. Barclays’ Henning Cosman upgraded to Equal Weight with a €50 target, noting that while the valuation is rich, no further negative catalysts loom. He trimmed his 2026 and 2027 earnings forecasts but sees 2028 estimates in line with consensus.

Investors will get their first glimpse of the turnaround’s traction on July 10, when Porsche holds a pre-close call for the first half, followed by the half-year report on July 29. The next major milestone is the Capital Markets Day scheduled for October 7, where management must deliver concrete details on cost-cutting and the product roadmap. For now, Leiters has told the FAZ that the company is “planning for lower capacities going forward” — a clear signal that the luxury strategy means a smaller, more profitable Porsche. Whether that convinces the market remains to be seen, but the analysts are already placing their bets.