Reporting Harley-Davidson’s fourth quarter and full-year 2025 results, it was unsurprising that new Harley chief executive and president Artie Starrs got his excuses in first. “As we close out a challenging year for the company, we are taking deliberate actions to stabilise the business, restore dealer confidence and align wholesale activity with retail demand,” he explained. “While near-term results reflect these actions, the progress we are seeing reinforces our confidence in the reset underway and our ability to rebuild Harley-Davidson’s long-term earnings and cash-flow power. With an iconic brand, a deeply loyal rider community and a dealer network unlike any other, we believe Harley-Davidson is well-positioned as we chart a clear path forward.”
However, 2025 full-year highlights from the core HDMC business weren’t so auspicious. Global dealer inventory levels of new motorcycles finished the year 17% down versus the end of Q4 in 2024. Global retail motorcycle sales were down by 12% to 132,535 units versus the previous year. North America declined by 13% to 89,100. The EMEA region (primarily Europe) was 11% down to 21,400. Asia Pacific dropped by 15% to 19,000, and Latin America grew by 2% to about 3000.
HDMC booked an annual operating loss of $29m. The operating margin was 7.5% down to -0.8%. The annual net income bottom line attributable to Harley-Davidson Incorporated (HDI) came in at $338m.
Q4 highlights were pretty patchy too. While Harley’s North American retail motorcycle sales rose by 5% year-on-year to 15,847 units, global retail sales of 25,287 units declined by 1%, and HDMC global motorcycle shipments of 13,515 had fallen by 4%. In addition, HDMC Q4 revenue of $379m dropped by 10%.
Harley-Davidson Financial Services continued to bang the drum for its strategic partnership with KKR and PIMCO, which the company says will unlock significant value while transforming HDFS into a “capital-light de-risked business”. It claimed the relationship had contributed significantly to the reduction of HDFS debt, resulting in reduced capital requirements. The HDFS transaction had apparently also facilitated a big dividend from HDFS to the Harley-Davidson Incorporated parent in Q4 2025, and full-year HDFS operating income of $490m.
The full-year performance of Harley’s LiveWire electric motorcycle spin-off wasn’t worth writing home about. Annual sales rose by 7% to 653 units, but revenue fell by 3% to $26m, delivering an operating loss of $75m.