Nissan Returns to Profit in Q1 FY2026, Quarterly Earnings Surpass Full-Year Profit of Previous Fiscal Year

Nissan Motor released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 (April–June) on August 3. Net sales for the quarter totaled ¥2.96 trillion, below market expectations of ¥3.05 trillion. Operating profit surged to ¥77.89 billion, significantly surpassing the market forecast of ¥6.01 billion. Net profit stood at ¥3.76 billion, marking a return to profitability compared with market expectations of a ¥8.85 billion loss. The company had posted massive net losses in the previous two fiscal years: a ¥670.9 billion net loss in FY2024 and a ¥533 billion net loss in FY2025, amounting to combined losses exceeding ¥1.2 trillion. To reverse its fortunes, Nissan launched the "Re:Nissan" revival plan in May 2025, targeting global workforce reductions of 20,000 employees by FY2027, cutting vehicle assembly plants from 17 to 10, reducing annual production capacity from 3.5 million to 2.5 million units, and achieving approximately ¥500 billion in cost savings. Additionally, the company has already sold its Yokohama headquarters building for ¥97 billion. The latest earnings report indicates that cost-cutting measures are already yielding results. Full-year operating profit for FY2025 was ¥58 billion, whereas operating profit in just the first quarter of FY2026 reached ¥77.89 billion—already exceeding the entire prior fiscal year’s figure. Nissan reaffirmed its full-year FY2026 guidance of ¥200 billion in operating profit and ¥20 billion in net profit, both notably higher than market expectations of ¥152.24 billion and ¥31.98 billion, respectively. If achieved, this would mark Nissan’s first annual profit since FY2023.