Despite the gloomy economic outlook, no recession seems to exist for the luxury automaker as its superior products are in high demand, as quarterly car sales reached an all-time high of 3567.

Customers trying to get a new Ferrari must be patient as the waiting list extends into 2025. The testament to the above statements is the newly launched Daytona SP3 model, which is limited to 599 units. This constrained supply, in combination with very high demand, enables Ferrari to charge a whopping starting price of $2.3m for that particular model, which was sold out even before its unveiling.

Unsurprisingly in Q1’2023, the company reported better-than-expected Revenue of €1,429m (vs. consensus estimates for €1,375m) and EBIT of €385m (26.9% margin) driven by its elite clientele and incredible brand loyalty.

For a growing crowd of investors, the luxury sector to the European stock market is analogues to what Big Tech has been to the US: Dominant businesses whose growth is unshakable even as the economy loses steam. Ferrari is a testimony to the trend of a brand that has always been synonymous with luxury.

As seen from the chart above, demand for high-end sports cars has held up well among Ferrari’s wealthy customers even as it increased prices. This is in stark contrast to some automakers, such as Tesla, who are losing pricing power as the economy heads for a slowdown. As a result, Ferrari shares have been outperforming Tesla recently by miles, up over 40%, while Tesla is down a staggering 33%.

A testament to Ferrari’s incredible profitability is its gross profit margins (GM) of close to 50%, head and shoulders ahead of the competition; Tesla comes second with GM of 23%. However, the latter has been slashing prices recently, negatively impacting its profitability.

Is the rally overextending?

The stock is up 37% year-to-date, trading at an all-time high of $300, and despite its incredible momentum, the number one luxury automaker could face some major corrections. The current share price already reflects a lot of positive market news, such as the unprecedently high demand and improving company fundamentals. However, the Italian luxury automaker is trading at about seven times its forward sales (and 40 times forward earnings), by far the most expensive car stock in Europe, in fact, more expensive than any other auto manufacturer, except for Tesla.