Aston Martin H1 2026 Results: Valhalla Lifts Margins, but Debt Remains the Big Risk

Aston Martin's first-half results contain clearer evidence of operational improvement, helped by more than 220 Valhalla deliveries, higher wholesale volumes and lower manufacturing costs.

Revenue increased by 38% to £628.6 million, while gross profit jumped 68% to £212.5 million. Gross margin reached 33.8%, up from 27.9% a year earlier.

That is meaningful progress. However, the luxury carmaker still recorded a £154.2 million loss before tax and ended June with net debt of £1.54 billion. The recovery is moving forward, but it remains heavily financed.

Investors can read the original company announcement for the full unaudited results.

Aston Martin's key H1 2026 figures

Metric	H1 2026	H1 2025	Change
Wholesale volumes	2,331	1,922	21%
Revenue	£628.6 million	£454.4 million	38%
Gross profit	£212.5 million	£126.6 million	68%
Gross margin	33.8%	27.9%	5.9 percentage points
Adjusted EBITDA	£62.7 million	£(3.0) million	£65.7 million improvement
Adjusted EBIT	£(108.9) million	£(121.5) million	10% improvement
Loss before tax	£154.2 million	£140.8 million	10% worse
Free cash outflow	£197.6 million	£321.0 million	£123.4 million improvement
Net debt	£1.54 billion	£1.38 billion	12% higher

Adjusted EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, with certain exceptional items removed. It provides a view of operating performance before major financing and non-cash costs.

Valhalla is making a visible financial contribution

The biggest change was the arrival of Aston Martin's Valhalla supercar in meaningful numbers.

Specials deliveries increased from 18 vehicles to 225, almost entirely representing Valhalla. This helped total average selling price rise by 17% to £241,000 and supported the sharp increase in gross profit.

Total wholesale volumes rose 21% to 2,331 vehicles. Core volumes, which exclude Specials, increased by a more modest 11% to 2,106.

Growth was spread across all regions. Americas volumes increased 29%, Europe, the Middle East and Africa excluding the UK rose 28%, UK volumes climbed 12%, and Asia-Pacific advanced 6%.

Management also said core retail volumes exceeded wholesale volumes by more than 30%. This matters because retail sales running ahead of shipments to dealers can indicate that customer demand is absorbing available supply rather than vehicles simply accumulating in the distribution network.

The core order book was described as stable, while Valhalla orders extend into the second half of the fourth quarter.

Margin progress is encouraging, with one caveat

Aston Martin's gross margin improved from 27.9% to 33.8%. The company attributed this to the richer product mix, higher volumes, lower manufacturing costs and transformation benefits.

Adjusted EBITDA improved from a £3.0 million loss to a £62.7 million profit, producing a 10.0% margin.

However, adjusted operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortisation increased by 16% to £150 million. Depreciation and amortisation also climbed 45% to £171.6 million, reflecting the cost of previously developed vehicles entering production.

This helps explain why adjusted EBIT remained negative at £108.9 million despite the stronger gross profit.

There was also pressure on core pricing. Core average selling price fell 5% to £182,000 because Aston Martin provided targeted dealer support to reduce aged stock. Management expects stock levels to move towards normal levels in the second half, but investors will want evidence that this support is genuinely temporary.

Cash burn has improved, but has not disappeared

Free cash outflow narrowed from £321.0 million to £197.6 million. In the second quarter alone, the outflow dropped from £200.7 million to £80.8 million.

Excluding £72.5 million of net cash interest paid during the quarter, Aston Martin said free cash flow approached breakeven. That shows the underlying operations and investment cycle are becoming less cash-hungry.

Still, interest is a genuine cost and cannot be ignored indefinitely. H1 net cash interest paid was £75.1 million, while investment activities consumed £120.2 million.

Working capital also produced a £45 million outflow. This included higher inventories and receivables, as well as deposit outflows associated with Specials deliveries.

The comparison with Aston Martin's challenging 2025 results shows why the improved cash performance matters. The business needs better margins to translate into sustainable cash generation, not simply smaller outflows.

The £550 million refinancing strengthens liquidity at a price

Aston Martin completed £550 million of new debt financing after the reporting period. This comprised a £450 million senior secured term loan and a £100 million delayed draw term loan, maturing in July 2031.

The financing increased pro forma liquidity at 30 June to approximately £340 million, compared with reported liquidity of £145.2 million.

That provides extra resilience and flexibility for future product plans. However, the pricing is 6.75% above the prevailing SONIA base rate, so it is not cheap funding.

The company now expects approximately £160 million of net cash interest in 2026, up from its previous guidance of approximately £150 million.

Net debt stood at £1.54 billion at the half-year point, while adjusted net leverage was 8.9 times. Leverage measures debt relative to underlying earnings, and that remains a substantial figure even after improving from 12.8 times at the end of 2025.

The refinancing tackles near-term liquidity pressure, but it does not remove the underlying debt burden.

Full-year guidance remains unchanged

Aston Martin continues to expect 2026 wholesale volumes to be similar to 2025's 5,448 vehicles. This includes approximately 500 Valhalla deliveries.

Management expects:

• Gross margin to improve into the high 30s%.
• Adjusted EBIT margin to move materially towards breakeven.
• Adjusted operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortisation to remain below £300 million.
• Capital investment of approximately £300 million.
• Free cash outflow to improve materially from 2025's £410 million outflow.
• Net cash interest of approximately £160 million.

The second half is expected to benefit from further Specials deliveries, a more balanced production schedule and additional transformation savings.

However, the company remains cautious about US tariffs, changes to Chinese ultra-luxury car taxes, geopolitical instability and global supply chains. The US tariff quota mechanism also makes quarterly forecasting more difficult.

What Aston Martin investors should watch next

The strongest part of these results is the improvement in product mix and gross margin. Valhalla is delivering a real financial benefit, operating cash flow has moved close to neutral, and second-quarter cash burn fell substantially.

The weaker side is equally clear. Aston Martin remains loss-making, core average selling prices declined, net debt increased and annual interest costs are expected to rise.

The key test is whether the company can deliver its promised high-30s gross margin while reducing dealer support and converting earnings into cash after interest and investment spending.

For now, the turnaround has stronger operational evidence behind it, but Aston Martin's capital structure leaves little room for execution problems. Investors following Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings shares should keep the focus on cash generation, debt and core pricing rather than vehicle volumes alone.