Mercedes-Benz Still Affected by Chip Crisis, but Q4 Results Impress; FVE Increased to EUR 101

Mercedes-Benz Group reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of EUR 3.72, EUR 0.45 better than the EUR 3.27 FactSet consensus and up EUR 1.55 from last year's EUR 2.17. With improved chip availability versus fourth-quarter 2021, still disrupting output, total global volume jumped 8% to 659,000 units from 612,000. Group revenue rose 16% to EUR 41.0 billion from the prior year's EUR 35.2 billion, beating the consensus by 8%. Price and mix were major contributors as the firm focuses on top-end luxury expansion. Fourth-quarter group adjusted EBIT was EUR 5.1 billion for a 12.4% margin versus EUR 5.0 billion and a 14.3% margin last year. Despite lower year-over-year margin, adjusted EBIT was 4% better than consensus.