Is Schaeffler AG profitable in 2025?

Yes. Schaeffler reported FY2025 group revenue of 23,492 million euros with EBIT before special items of 936 million euros, a 4.0% margin, up from 3.5% in 2024, plus free cash flow of 266 million euros, beating raised guidance, as reported March 3, 2026.

Is Schaeffler cutting jobs?

Yes. Schaeffler announced in November 2024 a gross cut of about 4,700 jobs (2,800 in Germany) targeting 290 million euros annual savings by 2029. As of March 2026, 47% (2,206 positions) had been executed and 76% contractually committed.

Could AI or robots replace Schaeffler's workforce?

Schaeffler is deploying rather than being displaced by robotics: it partnered with startup Humanoid in January 2026 and signed a binding deployment deal in May 2026 targeting 1,000 to 2,000 factory robots by 2032, with live deployment starting December 2026 at Herzogenaurach and Schweinfurt.

Who owns Schaeffler AG?

Schaeffler AG is publicly listed on the Frankfurt exchange (ticker SHA0) but majority-controlled by the Schaeffler family through IHO Holding, led by Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann and her son Georg F. W. Schaeffler, who chairs the Supervisory Board, as of the October 2024 Vitesco merger completion.

Who is Schaeffler's biggest competitor?

In bearings, Schaeffler competes in a six-player oligopoly with SKF (Sweden, market leader), Timken, NSK, NTN, and JTEKT. In automotive powertrain and e-mobility it competes with ZF Friedrichshafen, Continental AG, Bosch, and Valeo, as of September 2025.

Is Schaeffler's E-Mobility division making money?

Not yet. E-Mobility grew revenue 7.0% to 5,015 million euros in FY2025 but posted an EBIT loss of 805 million euros, a -16.0% margin, improved from -22.1% in 2024, according to results reported March 19, 2026.

Manufacturing companies · subsidiary · Germany

Schaeffler AG

schaeffler.com ↗

German maker of bearings, motors, and precision parts for cars, industry, aerospace.

Protection under test

Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026

Something worth protecting exists and is being tested right now.

On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from December 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: First humanoid-robot production deployment at Herzogenaurach/Schweinfurt plants

The call

Schaeffler survives on old-world engineering trust while its EV unit still loses money and Chinese rivals build their own motors in-house.

Schaeffler is an 80-year-old German company that manufactures precision bearings, gears, and other parts that go into car engines, transmissions, and industrial machines. The company is hard to replace because it has deep expertise in metal science, holds rare certifications needed for aerospace and defense work, and is already designed into the blueprints of major car manufacturers, but those advantages do not protect it from the shift away from gasoline engines, which is shrinking its core business and forcing painful job cuts. The key question is whether its electric vehicle parts division can stop losing money and start earning profit by 2027, and whether a new robot factory it is building can actually grow into a meaningful business by 2035.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI does not directly threaten precision bearings; Schaeffler instead bets on selling parts into humanoid robots and automation gear. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: BYD and Chinese e-drive suppliers like Inovance. Chinese EV makers build e-motors and e-axles in-house, shrinking the market for Schaeffler's outsourced E-Mobility components. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Decades of metallurgy and tribology know-how, OEM design-in relationships, and certifications across auto, industrial, aerospace and defense.

What would change this call

Schaeffler's E-Mobility division margin reported for FY2026 and FY2027. Shows whether the EV transition is closing the loss gap toward breakeven as planned.
First live humanoid-robot deployment at Herzogenaurach/Schweinfurt starting December 2026. Indicates whether new growth-field bets are producing real, verifiable output beyond MoUs.
Progress on the remaining 2,494 job cuts through end of 2027. Shows whether the restructuring program is on track or stalling.

Key numbers

FY2025 group EBIT margin 4.0%, up from 3.5% (2026-03-03)
E-Mobility revenue €5,015M, loss margin -16.0% (2026-03-19)
4,700 jobs cut, targeting €290M savings by 2029 (2024-11-05)

Named risks

Weak European auto OEM demand driving Powertrain & Chassis revenue down 5.2% in FY2025. Severity: high
E-Mobility division still posting -16.0% EBIT margin despite growth. Severity: medium
Ongoing restructuring cutting 4,700 jobs through 2027 creates job security uncertainty. Severity: medium
Thin group EBIT margin (4.0% FY2025) leaves little cushion against a second bad auto year. Severity: high
Recent CFO and COO turnover (September 2025) may affect strategic continuity. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
SKF Group	contesting	Market-leading bearings rival in the six-player global oligopoly, as of September 2025
ZF Friedrichshafen	contesting	Competes directly in automotive powertrain and chassis systems amid weak 2025 European auto demand
Continental AG	contesting	Also family-controlled via IHO Holding; overlapping automotive Tier-1 supply base
Bosch	contesting	Rival in automotive components but also co-investor with Schaeffler in Humanoid robotics deal, July 2026

Questions people ask

Is Schaeffler AG profitable in 2025?: Yes. Schaeffler reported FY2025 group revenue of 23,492 million euros with EBIT before special items of 936 million euros, a 4.0% margin, up from 3.5% in 2024, plus free cash flow of 266 million euros, beating raised guidance, as reported March 3, 2026.
Is Schaeffler cutting jobs?: Yes. Schaeffler announced in November 2024 a gross cut of about 4,700 jobs (2,800 in Germany) targeting 290 million euros annual savings by 2029. As of March 2026, 47% (2,206 positions) had been executed and 76% contractually committed.
Could AI or robots replace Schaeffler's workforce?: Schaeffler is deploying rather than being displaced by robotics: it partnered with startup Humanoid in January 2026 and signed a binding deployment deal in May 2026 targeting 1,000 to 2,000 factory robots by 2032, with live deployment starting December 2026 at Herzogenaurach and Schweinfurt.
Who owns Schaeffler AG?: Schaeffler AG is publicly listed on the Frankfurt exchange (ticker SHA0) but majority-controlled by the Schaeffler family through IHO Holding, led by Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann and her son Georg F. W. Schaeffler, who chairs the Supervisory Board, as of the October 2024 Vitesco merger completion.
Who is Schaeffler's biggest competitor?: In bearings, Schaeffler competes in a six-player oligopoly with SKF (Sweden, market leader), Timken, NSK, NTN, and JTEKT. In automotive powertrain and e-mobility it competes with ZF Friedrichshafen, Continental AG, Bosch, and Valeo, as of September 2025.
Is Schaeffler's E-Mobility division making money?: Not yet. E-Mobility grew revenue 7.0% to 5,015 million euros in FY2025 but posted an EBIT loss of 805 million euros, a -16.0% margin, improved from -22.1% in 2024, according to results reported March 19, 2026.

Timeline

2026-07-21Humanoid raises $152M at $1.35B valuation with Schaeffler and Bosch as strategic investors
2026-05-27Schaeffler signs MoU with Spire Global for sovereign European satellite hardware
2026-05-04Q1 2026 results beat estimates: EPS 0.07 euros, revenue 5.76 billion euros
2026-03-19E-Mobility EBIT margin improves to -16.0% from -22.1%; Powertrain & Chassis revenue falls 5.2%
2026-03-03FY2025 results: revenue 23,492M euros, EBIT margin 4.0%, free cash flow 266M euros
2025-09-01CFO Christophe Hannequin succeeds Claus Bauer; COO Andreas Schick's contract not extended
2024-11-05Schaeffler announces plan to cut about 4,700 jobs through 2027
2024-10-01Vitesco Technologies merger into Schaeffler AG completed at 11.4:1 exchange ratio

Revision history

24 July 2026

First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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