Finance
Renault escapes 'junk' bond rating after S&P upgrade
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 19, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 19, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Renault's credit rating is upgraded to 'BBB-' by S&P, marking its return to investment-grade status after five years, due to improved cash flow and management.
Dec 19 (Reuters) - Renault Group's long-term credit rating has been raised to "BBB-" by S&P Global Ratings, bringing the automotive group's rating back into investment-grade territory for the first time in five years.
The improved rating is based on an expectation that Renault will be able to generate resilient free operating cash flow over the next couple of years, despite tough European market conditions, thanks to significant improvements in management of its model mix and costs over the last two years, S&P said in a statement late Thursday.
It said the firm's product pipeline and expansion overseas would help grow volumes, while its range of different energy options - from electric vehicles to hybrids and combustion engines - would ensure volume stability despite the uneven adoption of EVs across different markets.
It also expects Renault to maintain adjusted EBITDA margins of around 6% and free operating cash flow to sales of about 2%.
Renault had been relegated to the "junk", or speculative, category in April 2020 following deteriorating financial results after the fall of former CEO Carlos Ghosn.
(Reporting by Jakob Van Calster in Gdansk, Gilles Guillaume in Paris;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
A credit rating is an assessment of the creditworthiness of a borrower, typically expressed as a letter grade. It helps investors understand the risk associated with lending money to that borrower.
Investment-grade refers to a credit rating that indicates a low risk of default. It typically applies to bonds or other debt instruments that are rated BBB- or higher by credit rating agencies.
EBITDA stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a measure used to evaluate a company's operating performance and profitability.
Free operating cash flow is the cash generated by a company's operations after accounting for capital expenditures. It indicates the cash available for distribution to investors.
A product pipeline refers to the series of products that a company is developing and planning to launch in the future. It is crucial for maintaining growth and competitiveness.
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