AlixPartners warns Wall Street's 2023 auto industry profit expectations are 'heavy lift'

A consulting firm is warning Wall Street that an expected growth in profits for the automotive industry in 2023 may not come to fruition even as volumes increase from an extended semiconductor shortage.

AlixPartners LLP on Wednesday pointed to an analyst consensus predicting a near doubling in profit next year from 2021 to $89.2 billion across automakers and suppliers. That's a 91% increase from $46.8 billion last year, which was roughly stable from $47.3 billion in 2018.

But raw material cost increases haven't been fully reflected in automaker and supplier performances, said Mark Wakefield, global co-leader of the automotive and industrial practice of AlixPartners. That along with a historic transition to electric vehicles should temper expectations of profitability, he said.