Harley-Davidson is at a crossroads, a fact that it cannot deny. The storied company's finances have been on a downward spiral for the last two decades, with small upticks here and there, but with an overall trajectory heading lower and lower. And, no, it's not because the company went "Woke," for Pete's sake. Rather, it's likely the opposite. But I digress.
See, Harley needs a turnaround, and it needs one fast, as in its latest earnings report that closes out 2025, the company reported a year-over-year decline in revenue of 26%. Not only that, while motorcycle sales were slightly up for Harley in the United States, the Trump Administration's tariff idiocy caused global shipments and sales to decline. And while LiveWire saw a slight increase in sales to the tune of 7% for the year, it still sold under 1,000 motorcycles total for 2025.
None of that is good for the Motor Co, and that's all with selling off a portion of its own financial services, along with a few other assets it had lying around. New CEO Artie Starrs, however, remained very optimistic about the brand's future while laying out the report to its shareholders and insiders, saying now that he had the full picture, he could really get to work.
What that work is, however, remains to be seen.
"I’m confident there’s a clear path to put Harley-Davidson back on the right trajectory," stated Starrs on the investor call, adding, "and I now have a sharper view of what it will take to reset the business and get to a more stable operating future for 2026." But that's a big ask, one that he's already working on with attempting to ameliorate the strained relationships Harley's had with its dealers in recent years, adding promotions to reduce old new inventory, and cutting production on motorcycles.
That last one is new information, as Starrs stated as while talking about dealership health, saying, "Dealer health today is uneven with some dealers facing challenges. Dealer health is not optional. It is a critical foundation for our long-term growth and earnings power," he added that he expects production to "run below wholesale creating operating deleverage." What that means is that Harley will seemingly limit production of new motorcycles in order to get its inventory levels on par with customer demand.
This is similar to what KTM did last year, too, as it faced over a year's worth of old new motorcycles sitting on dealership lots collecting dust and little else. To that end, it didn't start new production in earnest until almost the middle of the year, though part of that was due to supplier constraints.
As for Harley-Davidson, the brand's lineup is pretty new in terms of model year and engineering, but the whole line of motorcycles is basically one note—apart from the Pan America. That means it can survive a little while on the newness of its motorcycles while it gets its house in order. But that can't last forever, and Harley desperately needs to diversify its brand, as it's cruiser, bagger, and touring heavy, while its marketing panders toward an aging demographic. One that's also increasingly irrational when it comes to change or reality.
Harley is, supposedly, still working on an entry-level motorcycle that'll hopefully get new riders into the fold. And it's still doing its awesome Harley motorcycle training school that's taught over 1 million new riders on the finer points of riding a bike. Plus, it's Harley-freakin'-Davidson. It's about as iconic as they come, and the brand has been in dire straits before, only to rise from the ashes. Fingers crossed that happens, and Starrs has the juice to get it done.
