Nissan hit by $535-million quarterly loss due to U.S. tariffs, restructuring and lower sales
Japan's third-largest auto maker is in the midst of a sweeping turnaround plan and has pledged to close some seven plants globally and lay off 15% of its workforce.
Nissan reported an operating loss of 79.1 billion yen ($535 million) for the quarter from April to June, narrower than an average estimate for a loss of 123.9 billion yen in an LSEG survey of five analysts.
The result compared to a company forecast for a loss of 200 billion yen when it reported results for the previous financial year in May.
'We're still in the early stages of our recovery,' CEO Ivan Espinosa told a news conference after the results release, adding that the auto maker was making progress in cutting costs.
In a statement, Nissan said it would stop output at its Civac plant in Mexico by March 2026 in its global restructuring plan, integrating vehicle production from that plant to its Aguascalientes complex during the current financial year.
The news comes after Nissan said this month it would stop producing cars at two domestic sites, namely its Oppama plant, by March 2028, and Nissan Shatai's Shonan factory, by March 2027.
The auto maker first started operations at the Civac plant in 1966 in its initial expansion outside Japan. It has turned out more than 6.5 million vehicles so far, Nissan said.
The automaker's drastic restructuring effort aims to slash costs and restore profitability and performance in key markets such as the United States and China.
The plan includes slashing global production capacity to 2.5 million vehicles from 3.5 million and manufacturing sites to 10 from 17.
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Toronto Sun
20 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Moe disappointed by Trump's tariffs but says Carney should remove countermeasures
Published Aug 01, 2025 • 3 minute read Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe take part in a joint press conference following a talk hosted by Enserva in Calgary on Monday, June 16, 2025. Photo by Brent Calver / Postmedia Network SASKATOON — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Prime Minister Mark Carney should start removing counter tariffs against the United States to get a deal done with President Donald Trump. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account U.S Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has asked Ottawa to do away with countermeasures, and Moe says Canada should heed the advice. 'If we're serious about achieving a renewed, revamped and enhanced trade environment or some type of a new and improved (Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement), somebody's going to have to move in this space,' Moe said Friday at a news conference. 'We would suggest that it should be Canada.' Trump followed through late Thursday on his threat to hit Canada with 35 per cent tariffs — up from 25 per cent — on goods not compliant with the trade agreement, better known as CUSMA. Tariffs of 50 per cent remain in effect on steel and some copper products, and levies on Canadian automobiles and lumber are also in place. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carney has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion in U.S. goods. Moe said he's heard from farmers dinged by Canadian levies on steel bins, as it's importers pay those tariff charges. 'The reason we will be urging for a reduction of counter tariffs is they hurt Saskatchewan and Canadians, our families, our businesses and our places of work,' he said. '(It's) in the same way that Donald Trump's tariffs are pushing up the cost of doing business in the U.S. and really pushing them into a situation where the last two months running, their job numbers have been much more dismal than the projection.' Moe also called the jump in Trump's tariffs disappointing. He said he gives credit to Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc for ensuring exports compliant with CUSMA are tariff-free. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Under the agreement, 95 per cent of Saskatchewan exports move into the United States without duties, Moe added. 'That is incredibly important,' the premier said. '(It) allows us largely to have an opportunity to create North American energy security, food security and manufacturing security.' U.S. Census Bureau data shows nearly 60 per cent of Canadian goods that entered the country in May were compliant with the agreement. Moe and other premiers have also called on Ottawa to cut regulations to spur pipeline and rail development. He said he's hopeful Carney's latest law to streamline approvals for national infrastructure projects will do just that. Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the vast majority of her province's products remain tariff-free, because they also fall under the trade agreement. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Smith said in a social media post it's unfortunate non-compliant goods will be hit with the higher tariffs. 'These tariffs hurt both Canadian and American businesses and workers, and they weaken one of the most important trade and security alliances in the world,' she said. 'I remain convinced that the path to a positive resolution with our U.S. partners lies in strong, consistent diplomacy and a commitment to working in good faith toward shared priorities.' Smith said Carney should continue negotiating with Trump, while working toward diversifying the country's economy. Read More Both Moe and Smith recently reallowed U.S. liquor to be sold in their provinces, after temporarily banning such sales when the tariff war started earlier this year. Moe has said the 'elbows-up' approach in dealing with Trump is nothing more than a slogan. 'This is a time for us … to make fact-based decisions, not to make decisions that maybe make us feel good, that we think are going to be good slogans or things of that nature,' he said Friday. — By Jeremy Simes in Regina Canada Toronto Blue Jays Celebrity Toronto & GTA Columnists


Globe and Mail
20 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Jury orders Tesla to pay more than $240 million in Autopilot crash case
MIAMI (AP) — A Miami jury decided that Elon Musk's car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $200 million in damages. The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cell phone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars. The decision comes as Musk seeks to convince Americans his cars are safe enough to drive on their own as he plans to roll out a driverless taxi service in several cities in the coming months. The decision ends a four-year long case remarkable not just in its outcome but that it even made it to trial. Many similar cases against Tesla have been dismissed and, when that didn't happen, settled by the company to avoid the spotlight of a trial. 'This will open the floodgates,' said Miguel Custodio, a car crash lawyer not involved in the Tesla case. 'It will embolden a lot of people to come to court.' The case also included startling charges by lawyers for the family of the deceased, 22-year-old, Naibel Benavides Leon, and for her injured boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. They claimed Tesla either hid or lost key evidence, including data and video recorded seconds before the accident. Tesla has previously faced criticism that it is slow to cough up crucial data by relatives of other victims in Tesla crashes, accusations that the car company has denied. In this case, the plaintiffs showed Tesla had the evidence all along, despite its repeated denials, by hiring a forensic data expert who dug it up. Tesla said it made a mistake after being shown the evidence and honestly hadn't thought it was there. 'Today's verdict is wrong," Tesla said in a statement, 'and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology,' They said the plaintiffs concocted a story 'blaming the car when the driver – from day one – admitted and accepted responsibility.' In addition to a punitive award of $200 million, the jury said Tesla must also pay $43 million in compensatory damages, bringing the total borne by the company to $243 million. 'It's a big number that will send shockwaves to others in the industry,' said financial analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. 'It's not a good day for Tesla.' Tesla said it will appeal. It's not clear how much of a hit to Tesla's reputation for safety the verdict in the Miami case will make. Tesla has vastly improved its technology since the crash on a dark, rural road in Key Largo, Florida, in 2019. But the issue of trust generally in the company came up several times in the case, including in closing arguments Thursday. The plaintiffs' lead lawyer, Brett Schreiber, said Tesla's decision to even use the term Autopilot showed it was willing to mislead people and take big risks with their lives because the system only helps drivers with lane changes, slowing a car and other tasks, falling far short of driving the car itself. Schreiber said other automakers use terms like 'driver assist' and 'copilot' to make sure drivers don't rely too much on the technology. 'Words matter,' Schreiber said. 'And if someone is playing fast and lose with words, they're playing fast and lose with information and facts.' Schreiber acknowledged that the driver, George McGee, was negligent when he blew through flashing lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at 62 miles an hour before slamming into a Chevrolet Tahoe that the couple had parked to get a look at the stars. The Tahoe spun around so hard it was able to launch Benavides 75 feet through the air into nearby woods where her body was later found. It also left Angulo, who walked into the courtroom Friday with a limp and cushion to sit on, with broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. But Schreiber said Tesla was at fault nonetheless. He said Tesla allowed drivers to act recklessly by not disengaging the Autopilot as soon as they begin to show signs of distraction and by allowing them to use the system on smaller roads that it was not designed for, like the one McGee was driving on. 'I trusted the technology too much,' said McGee at one point in his testimony. 'I believed that if the car saw something in front of it, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.' The lead defense lawyer in the Miami case, Joel Smith, countered that Tesla warns drivers that they must keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel yet McGee chose not to do that while he looked for a dropped cell phone, adding to the danger by speeding. Noting that McGee had gone through the same intersection 30 or 40 times previously and hadn't crashed during any of those trips, Smith said that isolated the cause to one thing alone: 'The cause is that he dropped his cell phone.' The auto industry has been watching the case closely because a finding of Tesla liability despite a driver's admission of reckless behavior would pose significant legal risks for every company as they develop cars that increasingly drive themselves.


Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
AXT (AXTI) Q2 Revenue Drops 36%
Key Points Non-GAAP loss per share widened to ($0.15) versus estimates of ($0.13), reflecting soft demand and margin compression. Positive movement seen in indium phosphide (InP) substrate shipments linked to early artificial intelligence demand, but not enough to offset broader weakness. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI), a specialty materials producer known for high-performance semiconductor substrates, reported second-quarter 2025 earnings on July 31, 2025. The headline news from the release was a sharper-than-expected revenue decline, as GAAP revenue was $18.0 million, missing the analysts' estimate of $19.78 million by $1.78 million, or 9.0%, with non-GAAP earnings falling short of market estimates amid ongoing pressure from regulatory delays and a slow demand environment in China. GAAP revenue was $18.0 million, missing the $19.8 million GAAP analyst estimate, while non-GAAP loss per share was ($0.15), instead of the expected ($0.13) (non-GAAP). The quarter's overall performance showed persistent challenges, with some improvement in gross margin from the prior period but continued losses and steep year-over-year declines (GAAP gross margin 8.0%, up from (6.4)% in Q1 2025 and down from 27.4% in Q2 2024; non-GAAP gross margin 8.2%, up from (6.1)% in Q1 2025 and down from 27.6% in Q2 2024). Metric Q2 2025 Q2 2025 Estimate Q2 2024 Y/Y Change EPS (Non-GAAP) ($0.15) ($0.13) ($0.02) (650.0%) Revenue (GAAP) $18.0 million N/A $27.9 million (35.5%) Gross Margin (Non-GAAP) 8.2% 27.6% (19.4 pp) Net Loss (Non-GAAP) ($6.4 million) ($0.8 million) 700.0% Source: Analyst estimates provided by FactSet. Management expectations based on management's guidance, as provided in Q2 2025 earnings report. About AXT: Business Overview and Strategic Focus AXT manufactures compound semiconductor substrates such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), and germanium (Ge). These substrates serve as foundational materials in products for the data center, wireless, 5G, LED, and automotive sectors. Its products are used in applications such as artificial intelligence, optical networking, and advanced sensing. The company has recently focused on strengthening its position in high-growth areas like AI-driven optical interconnects, where efficient data processing and transmission are key. Maintaining a vertically integrated supply chain and pushing for advanced substrate quality have also become central, as has managing exposure to geopolitical and regulatory headwinds in China. Successfully expanding manufacturing scale and securing export permits remain crucial factors going forward. Quarter in Review: Revenue Declines, Margin Recovery, and Emerging Demand Trends This was also a sequential decline from the previous period's $19.4 million GAAP revenue. GAAP revenue came in $1.8 million below analyst expectations. Management attributed this shortfall mostly to longer processing times for gallium arsenide export permits and a sluggish demand environment in China. Raw material sales also faced pressure from these trends. While non-GAAP gross margin improved from negative territory in the previous quarter to 8.2%, this still lagged well behind last year's non-GAAP gross margin of 27.6%. The partial margin recovery reflects some success in process and operational improvements, though it remains well below optimal levels due to lower sales volume and ongoing cost challenges. One positive development for the business was the growth in substrate shipments for AI-related applications. Indium phosphide (InP) substrates, essential for high-speed optical data transmission in data centers and advanced computing, saw increased demand in China. Management pointed to its first successful exports of InP substrates outside China following new export permit approvals in June. Even so, these gains did not offset widespread softness in other end markets. Geopolitical and regulatory obstacles, especially related to China, were major themes this quarter. The delay and complexity of export permit processes weighed on expected sales, as did continued uncertainties in the broader Chinese economy. The ongoing regulatory review for the company's STAR Market IPO—the planned public offering of its subsidiary Tongmei in China—remains unresolved. Business Drivers, Product Lines, and Key Risks AXT's performance relies on the demand for high-quality substrates in data-intensive and high-speed applications. Its key product types—gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, and germanium substrates—are used for things like 5G base stations, lasers for data centers, and high-efficiency solar cells. Success in offering superior technical specifications, like low etch pit density (a measure of crystal quality), helps the company meet evolving customer requirements for next-generation devices. The company operates a vertically integrated supply chain, with partial ownership of raw material companies in China. This setup should, in theory, help with pricing, supply reliability, and cost control. However, increased operational costs and limited flexibility amid falling revenue have highlighted the balance between integration benefits and the risks of heavy concentration in China. Regulatory and trade restrictions remain a material risk, as delays in exporting key substrate products impact revenue and growth plans. No explicit dividend was declared this quarter, aligning with the company's current practice. Looking Ahead: Guidance and Investor Focus Instead, it underscored a focus on improving operational efficiency, supporting next-generation technology needs, and working to expand access to markets outside China as new export permits are granted. There are some early signs of demand recovery tied to AI-driven uses for InP substrates, but these remain small relative to the company's overall scale and current headwinds. Investors should watch for developments around external orders for high-speed substrates, trends in inventory and cash flow, and any updates on the STAR Market IPO for Tongmei. The company's ability to access capital and scale production as demand recovers will be critical. AXT does not currently pay a dividend. Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted. 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