Mercedes-Benz Reboots Buyback and Voluntary Exit Offers as Shares Sit Near a 52-Week Low

Mercedes-Benz closed at EUR 39.90, near its 52-week low, as buybacks roll on, BlackRock lifts its stake and a severance program is set to reopen.

Mercedes-Benz is stacking up a series of internal and capital-market moves while its equity languishes close to its yearly floor. The Stuttgart carmaker closed Friday at EUR 39.90, barely above its 52-week low of EUR 39.70 — a level that leaves the stock down 34% since the start of the year.

Attention now shifts to the end of the month, when the Mercedes-Benz Group AG publishes its interim report for the third quarter of 2026 on 28 October and hosts an analyst call the same day. Investors are counting on that update to clarify how operating conditions and the cost measures already set in motion are feeding through to earnings power.

Buyback Keeps Rolling

One lever the company is pulling is its own equity. Between 21 and 25 September, Mercedes-Benz repurchased 895,000 of its own shares. That brought the September total to 2,976,805 shares. The buybacks help underpin the market's supply of stock while management reshapes its cost base for the years ahead — and for investors, the key signal is what the moves say about future capital allocation and efficiency targets. Since purchases resumed roughly a week earlier, the share price has slipped 3.8%.

Ownership is shifting too. U.S. asset manager BlackRock reported on 25 September that it had lifted its voting rights to 5.87%, plus a further 0.17% held through financial instruments, for a combined position of 6.04%.

Voluntary Exits Return to the Table

Alongside the capital measures, the automaker is preparing fresh personnel steps. The voluntary severance program for administrative staff is set to be revived, with the offer expected to reopen in December for employees in indirect areas in Germany. Individual packages are planned for collective-agreement staff and, in some cases, for managers, and any departure requires both sides to agree. The company has not disclosed how many positions it aims to cut.

Office Presence Rules Under Negotiation

Behind the scenes, talks are underway over a new company-wide works agreement. According to Reuters, the framework would let managers require full-time employees to be on site up to four days a week without giving a reason. Works council bodies still have to sign off. If a deal is reached, the rule would likely take effect on 1 January 2027. Media reports suggest four office days would become the operational standard.

FUCHS Tie-Up Extended

On the partnership front, Mercedes-Benz and lubricant maker FUCHS SE agreed on Thursday to extend their strategic business relationship, which governs lubricant solutions across the Stuttgart group's global after-sales network.

Analyst View

Deutsche Bank Research weighed in on 29 September, trimming its price target on Mercedes-Benz to EUR 70 from EUR 73 while keeping its "Buy" rating unchanged.