Snapshot
DANA Inc reported $1.87B of revenue in Q1 2026, up 4.9% year over year, with diluted EPS of $9.89 and an operating margin of 3.2%.
- Revenue
- $1.87B
- YoY growth
- +4.9%
- Diluted EPS
- $9.89
- Operating margin
- 3.2%
$1.87B
Revenue
+4.9%
YoY growth
$9.89
Diluted EPS
3.2%
Operating margin
01 Key takeaways
What management said
- •Welcome to Dana Incorporated's earnings call for the first quarter of 2026.
- •You'll see in our deck, we've talked about winning the Ram Dakota program, and with that award, we now have just over 60% of our growth through 2030 secured.
- •Starting with the financial results, EBITDA margin came in at 9.2%, which, as Bruce alluded to, is a great year-over-year improvement of 400 basis points.
- •This is right in line with what we laid out relative to our Dana 2030 strategy around profitable growth and margin expansion for the company.
- •As a quick reminder, our plan is about profitable growth in our traditional business, our aftermarket business, as well as applied technologies, and it's about margin expansion through manufacturing excellence and structural cost reductions.
- •Margins in the mid-double-digit, 14%-15% range, which is a 400 basis point improvement over the midpoint of this year's guide, and then 6% free cash flow margins.
- •This quarter, we'd like to give you an update on the first pillar around traditional growth of our traditional product lines, if you will.
- •If you flip to page seven, just to give you a visual now of where the backlog stands.
- •When we were last in front of you, our three-year net new sales backlog was $750 million.
- •Really proud that the team continues to deliver on incremental growth in our backlog and secured a significant new award with one of our key customers.
- •You're going to see that starting here in 2026, and you'll see that those margins increase over our five-year planning horizon.
- •It's about delivering strong shareholder returns through profitable growth, margin expansion, and maintaining a best-in-sector balance sheet.
What went well
- •Adjusted EBITDA margin came in at 9.2%, a 400 basis point year-over-year improvement
- •First revenue growth since McDonald's return, with sales of $1.868 billion up from $1.781 billion last year
- •Won the Stellantis Ram Dakota program for front and rear axles, $250 million of annual sales launching early 2028, leveraging existing Toledo Assembly Complex capacity
- •Repurchased 4.4 million shares returning $125 million to shareholders, keeping on track for the $300 million target for the year and $775 million returned program-to-date
- •Delivered $35 million of cost reductions in the quarter, on track to the $65 million 2026 target and $325 million program total
- •Three-year net new sales backlog grew to $950 million from $750 million, with over 60% of growth through 2030 now secured
What went wrong
- •Lower end market demand drove a $33 million headwind from volume mix on sales
- •Adjusted free cash flow was a use of $195 million, reflecting normal first quarter working capital dynamics and a $224 million working capital use
- •Commercial vehicle softness in the first quarter, especially in Brazil and South America
- •Ongoing softness in electric light vehicle programs impacting the battery cooling business
- •Earnings call held before the Q filing with less full financial detail than the Q4 release, which analysts flagged as unusual
Guidance changes
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Performance breakdown
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Earnings call themes & trends
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