Peter Lyon
February 15, 2026
Over the past two years, Nissan has been in a severe, multi-year financial crisis, with significant troubles extending into 2024 and 2025. The company has faced major losses, plunging sales, and a need for drastic restructuring.
In 2025, Nissan faced a projected record net loss of over $4.5 billion, marking one of its worst years ever. To cope with the crisis, Nissan announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs (approximately 6%–7% of its global workforce) and reduce global production capacity by 20%.
Ivan Espinosa, appointed CEO of Nissan in April 2025, has initiated a “turnaround plan plus” aimed at addressing the company’s financial crisis and aging product lineup through deep cost cuts, increased development speed, and a return to “product-focused” leadership. As a former product planning executive, Espinosa has brought a “car guy” perspective to the company’s, focusing on accelerating new model launches and enhancing vehicle technology to revive flagging sales.
Nissan has just announced financial results for the nine months ended December 2025 and issued a revised full‑year outlook. The company delivered resilient performance with positive third‑quarter operating profit.
In the nine months, global sales reached 2.26 million units, mainly led by the US and China. Consolidated net revenue totaled $56.1 billion, with an operating profit of -$65 million, reflecting a notable improvement from the cumulative results through the second quarter as operating losses continued to narrow. Despite continued pressure from softer sales volumes and the impact of tariffs, the company delivered steady operational progress in fixed‑cost reduction and Monozukuri cost efficiencies.
Nissan maintained a robust financial position with total liquidity of $23.5 billion, including $13.7 billion in cash and cash equivalent as of December.
For 2026, the global sales volume forecast was adjusted to 3.2 million units.
Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s president and chief executive, stated, “Through the collective efforts of employees company‑wide, we are delivering steady progress under Re:Nissan. We have announced all seven sites for consolidation within ten months, reflecting disciplined execution and significant advancement on fixed‑cost improvements. Although sales remain under pressure and tariff impact continues, we are maintaining operational focus and recognizing the ongoing momentum of our product lineup. While FY25 will reflect a substantial net loss driven primarily by non-cash accounting charges, these actions are necessary to strengthen our long-term operating performance. We will continue reinforcing our financial foundation and increasing revenue through the introduction of competitive new models, supporting our trajectory toward the goals of Re:Nissan.”
