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Ferrari builds and sells some of the world's most famous luxury sports cars, and it makes most of its money selling those cars plus branded goods and racing-related services.
Ferrari makes the bright red sports cars that people put on bedroom posters. It sells only about 13,000 cars a year, far fewer than mass-market automakers, and that scarcity is the point. Buyers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a car that is part daily driver, part trophy, and part membership card to an exclusive club.
The business runs on a simple idea: charge a lot for each car and keep demand ahead of supply. Ferrari's cars carry some of the highest margins in the auto industry, and the company deliberately limits production so the waiting list never shrinks away. Beyond the cars themselves, Ferrari earns money from personalization options, branded merchandise, licensing deals, and its racing division, which includes Formula 1. Sponsors and race fans pay to be part of the show, and wealthy customers pay to feel connected to it. Ferrari is controlled by the Agnelli family's Exor holding company, and it has been publicly traded since its 2015 spin-off from Fiat Chrysler. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange as well as in Milan. The company uses its strong cash flow to pay dividends and buy back stock. One striking buyback: in 2022 Ferrari announced a program to repurchase up to roughly 10 percent of its shares over several years, a move that returns cash to investors and boosts earnings per share.
Enzo Ferrari started out running a racing team for Alfa Romeo, not building cars of his own. Only later did the team begin developing its own racing machines. And when it did, Ferrari ran into trouble: Enzo reserved his cars for seasoned sportsmen rather than rich amateurs, and the money ran so thin that bankruptcy came close. That near-miss would eventually bring outside owners into the picture.
In 1939 Enzo Ferrari set up his own company, Auto Avio Costruzioni. Oddly, the first car actually wearing the Ferrari badge did not appear until 1947, so the famous name took years to reach a car of its own.
Enzo Ferrari met Henry Ford II to talk about a possible merger, and the talks fell apart. Enzo reportedly said he would rather sell horses than cars to Ford, a snub Ford did not forget. Ford went after Ferrari at Le Mans, where Ferrari had won six years in a row, and the rivalry would leave its mark on both companies.
With Ferrari nearly out of money, Fiat bought a 50% stake in 1969, throwing the struggling racer a lifeline. Fiat later raised its stake to 90% after Enzo died in 1988, so the proud independent slowly became part of a bigger car empire.
Fiat Chrysler announced it would separate Ferrari from the parent company, mainly to raise cash. After the split, the Agnelli family's Exor held just under a quarter and Piero Ferrari about a tenth, setting the stage for the next big move.
In October 2015 Ferrari listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RACE, valuing the company at nearly $10 billion. The maker of fast cars was now a public company, and its shares were about to take a wild ride.
Early investors got a scare: after popping on the first day, the stock plunged nearly 15% to a new low, a fall of 43% in under four months. Weak first quarterly results and a disappointing outlook spooked the market, a reminder that even a glamorous brand can stumble once it answers to shareholders.
In July 2018 Louis Camilleri became CEO, succeeding Sergio Marchionne, who fell seriously ill and later died. The sudden change jolted investors who had expected Marchionne to stay until 2021. What Camilleri inherited was a business with profit margins around 30% and a waiting list stretching over a year.
Ferrari reached outside the car world and hired Benedetto Vigna, a top semiconductor executive, as CEO in 2021. He was tasked with steering Ferrari toward electric cars and fixing its Formula One team, following Camilleri, who had stepped down after a bout of Covid-19.
Ferrari showed part of its first full-electric supercar, the Elettrica, and said it would spend billions on electrification through 2030. The stock plunged nearly 16%, its worst one-day drop since the 2015 listing, but the real trigger was 2030 guidance below what analysts expected. Even an iconic brand gets judged on its forecasts once it is public.
Ferrari introduced the Luce, its first fully electric vehicle and its first four-door, five-seat, four-wheel-drive model, starting at $560,000 in the U.S. The company expects EVs to make up a fifth of its lineup by 2030, and it frames the Luce as a technological addition rather than a market shift: "We needed another Ferrari that happens to be electric."
Ferrari's biggest vulnerability is that it sells to a small, wealthy customer base, so it is exposed to luxury spending cycles and economic swings. It also faces a tricky transition: it must electrify its lineup without losing the roaring V12 identity that customers pay for. Rivals like Porsche and Lamborghini chase the same buyers, but Ferrari's brand and racing history give it a pricing power few companies can match. The order book stays full because customers are not really buying a car; they are buying a piece of a legend.
Saved answer · last researched 20 Oct 2026