German automotive supplier Continental on Wednesday set guidance for its core tyres business that points to largely unchanged sales and a near-term outlook for profitability that is not expected to move materially from 2025 levels.
The company said it anticipates annual sales in the tyres unit to fall between 13.2 billion and 14.2 billion euros for 2026, compared with 13.8 billion euros recorded in 2025. At the midpoint the projected top-line figure sits slightly under the market consensus of 14.0 billion euros.
Continental provided a corresponding profitability range for the division, forecasting an adjusted operating profit margin of between 13.0% and 14.5% for 2026. That compares with a 13.6% margin in the prior year and with analysts' average expectations of about 14%, as noted on the company's website.
The company outlined its demand assumptions for next year, saying global replacement tyre demand for passenger cars is expected to be between a 1% decline and a 2% increase. Production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles is projected to be either stable or down by as much as 2%.
Continental said this outlook does not take into account any possible effects from the escalating military conflict in the Middle East.
In its statement the tyremaker highlighted a range of challenges weighing on German carmakers and their suppliers, including U.S. import tariffs, softer demand, more intense competition from Chinese firms, adverse foreign exchange movements and supply chain changes. The company said these factors have been pressuring margins and are creating uncertainty for the future.
As part of a larger restructuring aimed at turning Continental into a pure-play tyres company, the sale of its Original Equipment Solutions unit was completed in February. The firm also published the exchange rate used in the report: $1 = 0.8625 euros.
The company did not provide estimates beyond the tyre unit guidance and reiterated that the stated assumptions exclude potential impacts from geopolitical escalation in the Middle East.