Winnebago sinks as motor home demand hits a pothole

A struggling RV industry is sometimes viewed as a recession indicator.

6/5/25 10:56AM

The TikTok ban may be about to get delayed for the third time, but that doesn’t mean #vanlife is back.

RV maker Winnebago on Thursday posted its preliminary third-quarter results, and they’re not great. The company expects sales to reach $775 million, below analyst estimates of $810 million. Winnebago’s guidance has adjusted earnings per share of between $0.75 and $0.85, significantly under the $1.37 Wall Street had penciled in.

Winnebago shares sank on the report and were down about 5% midday Thursday.

“While market pressures have been observed across our portfolio, they have been most acute in our Winnebago Motorhomes business unit,” CEO Michael Happe said. According to Happe, the company will aggressively modify its production schedules and adjust its headcount. Winnebago has already performed three layoffs in the past 12 months.

A slumping RV industry has historically tracked with recessions, and some believe it to be a strong economic bellwether. The theory goes that buying an RV is one of the most crystallized examples of “having extra cash and feelin’ good.” Therefore, when RV sales are sinking, times are bad.

It’s a solid hypothesis, though it’s probably not the leading indicator some — including the RV industry — might think: the US economy has seen a long swing away from goods and toward services.

Winnebago rival and Airstream maker Thor saw stronger results in its earnings report on Wednesday, posting better-than-expected earnings and revenue. Still, the company is laying off 570 people this month.

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Report: OpenAI won’t pay a dime in cash for its 3-year licensing deal for Disney IP

More financial details behind the landmark deal that will grant OpenAI three years of access to Disney intellectual property are coming out, and they’re pretty surprising.

The deal will reportedly see OpenAI pay zero dollars in licensing fees, instead compensating Disney in stock warrants. It was previously reported that Disney would invest $1 billion into OpenAI as part of the agreement.

It’s very abnormal for Disney to grant anyone access to its massive IP library without a cash payment, and the entertainment juggernaut has been known to strike down even crocheted Etsy Yodas for infringing on its turf. In its fiscal year 2025, Disney booked more than $10 billion in revenue from licensing fees across merchandising, television, and theatrical distribution.

OpenAI Deal to License Disney Characters Is Entirely in Stock

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Ford says it will take $19.5 billion in charges in a massive EV write-down

The EV business has marked a long stretch of losing for Ford, and today the automaker announced it will take $19.5 billion in charges tied, for the most part, to its EV division.

Ford said it’s launching a battery energy storage business, leveraging battery plants in Kentucky and Michigan to “provide solutions for energy infrastructure and growing data center demand.”

According to Ford, the changes will drive Ford’s electrified division to profitability by 2029. The company will stop making its electric F-150, the Lightning, and instead shift to an “extended-range electric vehicle” that includes a gas-powered generator.

The Detroit automaker also raised its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes outlook to “about $7 billion” from a range of $6 billion to $6.5 billion.

Ford’s write-down is one of the largest taken by a company as legacy automakers scale back on EVs, giving EV-only automakers a market share boost.

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GM adds Apple Music to select new vehicles, racing to fill the gap left by CarPlay’s absence

Earlier this year, General Motors said it plans to end support for in-vehicle phone projection systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all of its vehicles (a big expansion of the move it announced for its EVs back in 2023).

Now, the automaker appears to be stocking its replacement system with native apps to fill the void. On Monday, GM announced it was rolling out Apple Music to select 2025 Chevrolet and Cadillac models.

Losing CarPlay is a sore subject for many drivers: 39% of respondents to an American Trucks survey this month said a lack of the system (or Android Auto) is a “deal-breaker” when it comes to buying a new vehicle.

Many automakers appear willing to risk alienating those potential customers in exchange for access to lucrative data. Others, including Tesla, are working to allow CarPlay to boost sagging sales, according to reporting by Bloomberg.