…it is a strange pitch to start a post about Livewire’s Q1 2026 results, but frankly, the biggest worry for the senior management at Livewire would be Harley’s declining performance and profitability. In the quarterly results announced just a few days back, Harley’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) collapsed by more than 80%. The iconic motorcycle manufacturer is still profitable, but has felt the earth move from under its feet as customer preferences changed to the point where Harley came out looking clueless.
Importantly, Harley is not healthy enough to put a big chunk of cash on Livewire if the electric motorcycle manufacturer needed it.
That’s the biggest worry, because Livewire is not going anywhere in a hurry.
The Numbers
When you have bad numbers, there are two ways of looking at things.
First: Look, we are doing badly and are horribly effed.
Second: Look, we are f’d, but nowhere close to how f’d we were this time last year.
That in a gist are Livewire’s numbers for the quarter.
The brand sold 91 motorcycles this quarter. This is a 76% decline from the previous quarter, though a 176% bump up on a year-on-year basis. Frankly, thanks to seasonality impact, we prefer looking at numbers on a year-on-year basis, so Livewire has done well.
On the operating profit side, the only good side of the results, Livewire reported a loss of USD 16.7 million. This is an improvement from the USD 19.4 million loss one year back. The company attributed it to an improvement in gross profit of USD 1.6 million and a decrease in consolidated selling, administrative, and engineering expenses of USD 1.4 million.
At the consolidated level, Livewire reported a net loss of USD 18.1 million, a slight improvement from USD 19.3 million loss last year.
However, at a high picture level, that does mean that Livewire is still bleeding…heavily. For every dollar earned, it lost 12. In the quarter, Livewire’s cash position declined by USD 13.6 million. It has another USD 67.5 million on its balance sheet. That’s substantial, but not forever money. Things have to turn around.
Harley won’t be in a good shape for any bailouts.
The Indifference of the Global North
The 91 units sound even more depressing when we realise that Livewire is sold across North America, Europe, and Australia. That’s the entire developed world, all self-proclaimed climate enthusiasts. It does seem like the Global North only wants to talk green mobility and would like the Global South to do all the walking.
Sure!
Livewire’s numbers are supported by a big drop in prices. Recently, they dropped the prices of the Livewire One in Europe by more than EUR 10,000 to counter Honda’s fresh WN7.
STACYC Numbers
We should not forget that Livewire also sells STACYC balance bikes for kids. The kiddie cycle business had revenues of USD 3.7 million and lost a million dollars in the quarter.
This is an increasingly worrying business because till the end of 2023, STACYC used to make consistent profits, and since then it has been consistently loss-making.
Everything is a Placeholder
It is clear after quarters and quarters of toil that Livewire has a product-market-price fit problem. The motorcycles look like cruisers, but being electric, they would shy away from long-legged sprints on the highway. The customer walking into the showroom is the typical Harley guy, not the friendliest when it comes to climate concerns, and nothing less than a Greta level of climate concerns could drive anyone to buy a Livewire. Even after the drastic price reduction, the Livewire is just too expensive. There are entry-level Harleys that one can buy, not to mention 650cc twins from Kawasaki and other brands. Those bikes can go on all day.
Which means that things are not going to change till the S4 Honcho range arrives. These are 125cc equivalent motorcycles made for city fun, a segment where electric thrives.
The S4 Honcho range would arrive in Spring 2026, which is right now.