Harley-Davidson Seeks New CEO, While Grappling With Sales Slump, Tariffs
Motorcycle maker says Jochen Zeitz plans to retire after five years in the role.
2 min
Wanted: CEO for iconic (but challenged) motorcycle maker.
Harley-Davidson is seeking a replacement for Chief Executive Jochen Zeitz, who the company said Tuesday plans to retire after five years on the job.
Harley said it retained an executive search firm late last year after Zeitz expressed interest in retiring. He will remain in his position until a successor is chosen.
During his tenure, Zeitz has boosted Harley’s profit but has seen sales of the bikes continue to decline . The company last year sold 151,000 motorcycles worldwide, less than half as many as it sold in 2008.
Shares in Harley and other power-sports manufacturers dropped sharply Tuesday as investors’ worries about tariffs and a possible recession mounted. Harley stock closed at $20.82, down nearly 9%.
Zeitz, a longtime board member, took over in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold and kept the Milwaukee-based company running , despite factory closings and supply-chain tangles. As CEO he has prioritized profits over volume, cutting money-losing entry-level bikes from the lineup to focus on more expensive cruising and touring models.
The strategy was different than one implemented by his predecessor, Matt Levatich, whose “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” plan called for dozens of new models to broaden the brand’s appeal. Levatich left the company after an activist investor said the approach had led to poor financial performance.
Zeitz has said Harley is faring better than its competitors, as the industry suffers from high interest rates and low consumer confidence. Harley’s prospects have also been shaken in the trade war launched by the Trump administration, with the European Union threatening to impose 50% tariffs on the company’s bikes .
The motorcycle maker said in March that bikes imported into the U.S., which receive a 2.4% tariff at most, should face reciprocal duties to even the playing field.
Harley’s network of dealers often criticized Zeitz as being out of touch with the brand’s distinct culture. He grew up in Germany and had made his name rescuing sportswear company Puma , but as sales continued to decline, some said he didn’t understand what made Harley riders tick.
“This company has a great future under someone else’s direction,” said Mark Forszt , a dealer with six locations in Indiana. “Hopefully they’ll bring someone in with knowledge of Harley-Davidson culture.”
Justin Johnson, operating partner at St. Paul Harley-Davidson in Minnesota, gave Zeitz credit for kick-starting the development of popular new touring models that came out last year.
“That was the fastest I’ve ever seen Harley bring something to market,” Johnson said.
Harley faces numerous challenges, including an aging customer base. Dealers say entry-level models have failed to capture the appeal of their predecessor, the Sportster, which was phased out to comply with tightening air-quality standards.
The company’s electric-motorcycle spinoff, LiveWire , which launched in 2019, has seen losses in excess of $100 million while shipping fewer than 700 bikes in each of the past two years. Zeitz indicated on a quarterly conference call in February that he was losing patience with the project.
Zeitz was thrust into America’s culture wars last summer when conservative activist Robby Starbuck accused Harley of becoming “totally woke” under the CEO’s leadership. That stirred up a whirlwind of social-media criticism, including some from elected officials, and the company backed away from some initiatives.
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
Records keep falling in 2025 as harbourfront, beachfront and blue-chip estates crowd the top of the market.
A divide has opened in the tech job market between those with artificial-intelligence skills and everyone else.
Coca-Cola, 3M lead blue-chip index higher after reporting results.
2 min
Strong earnings reports briefly helped power the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 47000 for the first time, the latest milestone in stocks’ three-year bull run. The blue-chip average pared gains to close below the mark, but still finished at a record.
With sky-high earnings expectations baked into stock prices, Wall Street has been watching this third-quarter reporting period closely. So far, Corporate America has delivered.
Heavyweights Coca-Cola , 3M and General Motors all reported results that exceeded analyst expectations before the opening bell on Tuesday. 3M shares rose 7.7% to a four-year high, leading the Dow.
GM soared 15% to the highest level since its 2010 post-bailout initial public offering after Chief Executive Mary Barra raised guidance and told analysts the automaker can’t make enough full-size SUVs to keep up with demand.
GM said it is making faster-than-expected progress reducing a multibillion-dollar tariff bill—a key topic for investors who are still laser-focused on trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
A solid start to third-quarter earnings has helped buoy investor sentiment, taking stocks back toward record highs after concerns over trade and credit quality bubbled up earlier this month.
As of last Friday, 86% of companies overshot earnings estimates, according to FactSet. Nearly one-fifth of S&P 500 companies are scheduled to give financial updates over the course of this week.
The S&P 500 was little changed Tuesday, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.2%. The Dow rose 0.5% to a record closing level of 46924.74. Treasury yields slipped, with the benchmark 10-year yield closing at 3.962%, its lowest reading since October 2024.
“This is a market being driven by strong fundamentals,” said Scott Helfstein , head of investment strategy at asset manager Global X. “Earnings growth is largely driving equity values.”
Elsewhere Tuesday, it was a historically ugly day for precious metals after an epic run-up switched abruptly into reverse. Gold tumbled 5.7%, its worst single-day decline since 2013. Silver fell 7.2%.
Some analysts tied the selloff in safe-haven assets like gold to optimism that the U.S. will reach a new trade deal with China, after the U.S. and Australia signed a rare-earths trade agreement on Monday. The drop followed a remarkable run of gains : Gold remains up 55% on the year and only fell to its lowest level since Oct. 10.
In company news, Warner Bros. Discovery said it is exploring a potential sale of some or all of its media holdings, which include a movie studio, HBO Max and CNN. Its shares rose 11% on the news, which could reshape the entertainment industry.
Micro-needling promises glow and firmness, but timing can make all the difference.
When the Writers Festival was called off and the skies refused to clear, one weekend away turned into a rare lesson in slowing down, ice baths included.
