Stellantis Falls 7% in Paris After CEO Tavares Resigns

Stellantis Shares Plummet 7% After CEO Resignation

(Reuters) -Paris-listed shares in Stellantis <STLAM.PA> slumped by over 7% on Monday after chief executive Carlos Tavares resigned abruptly on Sunday.

Stellantis said it would seek to find a replacement CEO in the first half of 2025 and would establish a new interim executive committee helmed by Chairman John Elkann.

Previously regarded as one of the most respected executives in the auto industry, Tavares' approach came under scrutiny after slumping sales in North American led the automaker in September to issue a profit warning on its 2024 results.

"This sets an unprecedented challenge for investors looking to invest in a firm with such volatility in the management team," JPMorgan said in a note referring to earlier resignation of Stellantis' finance chief.

" ... with such a turnaround in the top management team, question marks may be raised as the market will in our view price in no major earnings improvement in FY25," they added.

"The difficulties of Stellantis continue to cast doubts about the global brand conglomerate business model... as well as CEO longevity in an industry as structurally and cyclically challenged as Autos," Jefferies analysts said

Milan-listed shares, down more than 40% year-to-date, were halted in early trading.

(Reporting by Enrico Sciacovelli and Alessandro Parodi, editing by Amanda Cooper)