Bridgestone earnings up on cost savings as demand slows down in North America

Tokyo – Bridgestone Corp. has posted higher adjusted operating profit (earnings) for the first nine months of 2025, helped by cost savings and efficiency improvements, though revenue dipped slightly due to weaker sales in North America.

Group revenue for the January–September period stood at Yen3.23 trillion (€18 billion), roughly unchanged from the previous year.

Adjusted earnings rose 4% year-on-year to Yen368.4 billion, lifting the margin to 11.4%.

According to Bridgestone, earnings were lifted by a Yen34 billion positive impact of pricing and a Yen37 billion contribution of cost-cutting measures, partially offset by cost of raw materials, currency impact and ‘other costs’.

By region, Japan reported a 4% year-on-year increase in sales to Yen912 billion, but earnings dropped 3% to Yen132 billion over the nine-month period.

Asia, Pacific, India and China posted a 2% year-on-year decline in earnings to Yen41 billion, as sales fell 5% to Yen373 billion in the region.

Americas showed resilience with a 21% growth in earnings to Yen158 billion, despite a 4% fall in sales ot Yen1.57 trillion.

Europe, Middle East and Africa also more than doubled earnings to Yen33 billion on flat sales of Yen626 billion.

Bridgestone described 2025 as a “year of emergency and crisis management”, pointing to high raw material costs and an “apparent economic slowdown” in the US.

The Japanese group said demand for new truck and bus tires in North America dropped sharply, weighing on TBR exports from Brazil.

To offset the decline, Bridgestone said it implemented ‘cost-reduction measures’ estimated to yield benefits of Yen52 billion and said it had reinforced business restructuring and rebuilding initiatives.

The tire maker now aims to shift toward “growth with quality”, driven by "premium replacement tires" and its focus on “revitalising” the Firestone brand in North America.

The group also expects to improve volumes through ‘conversion cost improvement', a measure that it said delivered a Yen6 billion contribution to profits in the third quarter.

In the tires segment, PC/LT remained flat with nine-month sales marginally down at Yen1.8 trillion and earnings at Yen195 billion.

The truck & bus unit reported sales of Yen748 billion in line with the previous year, while earnings grew 60% to Yen70 billion.

Specialities, including mining, farm, aircraft and two-wheeler tires, posted a 12% decline in earnings to Yen97.4 billion, on 1% lower sales of Yen473 billion.

Bridgestone said its diversified products business, covering non-tire products, remained small but profitable.

Here, adjusted earnings for the first three quarters rose 35% year-on-year to Yen6.3 billion on 6% lower sales of Yen212 billion.

Within the tires division, Bridgestone’s core ‘premium tire’ business generated flat sales of Yen2.15 trillion, representing 63% of total sales, and Yen291.2 billion in adjusted earnings, down 5% year-on-year.

The ‘solutions business’, which includes retail and commercial tire services, accounted for 30% of revenue with flat sales of Yen1 trillion, but saw a strong rebound in earnings.

Adjusted earnings rose 55% year-on-year to Yen76.6 billion, lifting the margin to 7.5% from 2.7% reported in the first three quarters of 2024.

Within the division, the commercial B2B solutions unit reported an adjusted earnings of Yen30.1 billion, up 44%.

The retail service business, which includes North American finance-related activities, posted Yen764.7 billion in revenue and a 63% increase in earnings to Yen46.5 billion.