Overview

• Aggregated Q2 revenue for DAX-40 companies declined by nearly 2% year-on-year to €434.6 billion and aggregate EBIT slipped 3.3% to €46.9 billion despite more than half of firms posting individual gains.
• Employment at 34 reporting DAX firms fell by about 30,000 positions (0.9%) to 3.49 million, and EY predicts further workforce reductions and plant closures without shifts in trade policy or competitiveness reforms.
• Automakers led the downturn with Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW registering the steepest revenue drops as U.S. import duties and strong Chinese rivals compound the transition to electric vehicles.
• Defence and select service firms outperformed with Rheinmetall boosting headcount by nearly 17%, MTU Aero Engines raising jobs by around 7%, Siemens Energy’s EBIT surging over 1,500%, and Deutsche Telekom posting a €6.6 billion operating profit driven by its U.S. business.
• The mixed performance stems from external headwinds—higher U.S. tariffs and intensifying Chinese competition—exacerbating internal challenges such as delayed electric-vehicle strategies and elevated cost structures at German exporters.