Mercedes-Benz Braces for October Earnings Test as Deutsche Bank Trims Target and Office Rules Tighten
Published on 09/30/2026 at 11:01 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Deutsche Bank Research has nudged its price target for Mercedes-Benz lower, cutting the figure from EUR 73 to EUR 70 while keeping a Buy rating on the Stuttgart automaker's stock. Analyst Tim Rokossa framed the revision around persistent headwinds in Asia, describing the company's China business as a structural challenge rather than a passing dip. He expects the upcoming third-quarter reporting season to leave that narrative largely intact.
The stock has spent months under pressure and was trading at EUR 40.73 at the time of the note, down 32% since the start of the year.
Washington Signals an Exemption
China is proving difficult terrain for Europe's carmakers broadly, but for Mercedes-Benz the country has also become a regulatory flashpoint in the United States. A Senate bill would bar market access to companies with Chinese ownership stakes above 15%. Passive Chinese shareholders hold roughly 20% of Mercedes-Benz.
Senator Moreno moved to calm those fears, stating plainly that Mercedes-Benz vehicles would not be banned in America and signaling a carve-out for the German manufacturer. He is currently in talks on the matter with Senator Rand Paul. Investors, however, continue to watch the geopolitical entanglements with a wary eye.
Battery Bet Deepens
On the technology front, Mercedes-Benz signed a testing agreement with partner ProLogium on September 24 covering fourth-generation solid-state cells. The deal gives the Stuttgart group preferential access to the inorganic solid-state cell technology. The two companies have worked together since 2016, and Mercedes-Benz sits on ProLogium's board as an investor. The carmaker is also backing the expansion of a ProLogium production site in Dunkirk, France, along with plans for a listing on the US tech exchange Nasdaq. Testing of the new cells is underway both at in-house facilities and at external institutes.
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Four Office Days Become the New Default
Closer to home, management and the works council reached agreement yesterday on a new company-wide works agreement that sharply curtails remote work and expands on-site attendance. For full-time employees, managers will be able to mandate up to four days per week in the office without providing special justification, making four office days the new standard.
The move forms part of a productivity drive launched in June as management responds to economic turbulence. The previous mobile-work arrangement from 2016, which allowed staff to work up to five days a week from home or on the road, has been terminated by the company.
If the new rules take effect as planned on January 1, 2027, full-time staff will be left with a single home-office day per week as the default. Exceptional cases will have to be agreed individually between employees and supervisors, and the relevant site works councils must still formally approve the plan.
The works council called four mandatory office days a step backward for flexibility, but said the agreement limits further deterioration. According to Handelsblatt, CEO Ola Källenius had initially pushed for scrapping home office entirely.
Working Time and Bonuses in the Firing Line
Källenius is also pressing to raise the contractual 35-hour week in Germany while holding pay steady. Reports point to potential cuts to special payments such as holiday and Christmas bonuses, which the company has so far declined to comment on officially.
The tougher savings plans rest on real business strain. Mercedes-Benz recently posted a sharp drop in profit, driven by pronounced weakness in the key Chinese market and higher US tariffs.
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To bring German labor costs down meaningfully, the leadership has turned up the heat on the employee side: production chief Michael Schiebe raised the prospect of closing two German plants if cost reductions fail to materialize. The workforce has already staged protests against the board's plans, and the works council has vowed to resist plant closures while signaling a willingness to negotiate.
Market Reaction and the Road Ahead
The operational challenges and internal tensions are clearly reflected in the share price. Mercedes-Benz stock fell 2.3% in Xetra trading yesterday to close at EUR 40.65, bringing its year-to-date decline to 33%.
Even so, industry observers take a differentiated view of the group's medium- to long-term potential. Deutsche Bank Research analysts reaffirmed their Buy recommendation for Mercedes-Benz Group yesterday. For investors, the decisive question now is how far management can push its planned efficiency gains against resistance from the workforce.
The next official financial date is drawing near: Mercedes-Benz will publish its interim report for the third quarter of 2026 on October 28 and discuss the figures in an analyst conference.
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