Pirelli & C. S.p.A. (PLLIF)

How it makes money

Revenue comes from selling physical tyres, priced by size, performance and brand rather than through subscriptions. Sales split between original equipment — tyres supplied directly to carmakers for new vehicles — and the replacement market, where individual drivers or fleets buy through dealers as tyres wear out. Pirelli has pushed its mix toward larger, higher-margin 'High Value' tyres rather than lower-priced Standard tyres, where it has deliberately given up volume in markets like South America.

Revenue by segment

Premium and prestige carmakers approve specific tyre models for each new car, and switching that homologated-fit relationship mid-model-cycle is costly for both sides. That gives Pirelli's brand and engineering relationships with makers like Ferrari and Porsche some stickiness, but it still competes against Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone and low-cost Asian producers on every new tender.

Original-equipment tyre sales follow how many premium cars automakers build, which rises and falls with the economy and consumer confidence. Replacement demand is steadier since worn tyres must eventually be changed, but even that market felt pressure in 2025 from cheaper Chinese production undercutting prices in Standard tyres across multiple regions.

Key risks

• Competition from low-cost Asian production — New tyre-manufacturing capacity in China pushed prices down across Standard tyres in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US in 2025, pressuring the segment Pirelli is deliberately shrinking into anyway.
• Raw material and commodity cost swings — Tyre costs depend heavily on rubber and petrochemical inputs like butadiene, whose prices moved sharply during 2025 and are outside Pirelli's control.
• Trade tariffs — New tariffs on tyres imported from the EU, UK and Brazil into other markets had a gross impact of about €55 million in 2025, only partly offset by mitigation.
• Currency exchange-rate volatility — As a global manufacturer selling in many currencies, Pirelli's reported results are affected by exchange-rate swings independent of underlying demand.