Steep drop in Q1 sales for JLG

JLG’s Q1 2025 sales fell -22.7%, or $280.4 million, to $957.1 million, showing a drastic decline from 2024’s Q1 sales of $1.24 billion. According to parent company Oshkosh, the downturn was driven primarily by lower sales volume in North America, which the company reported in 2024 Q4 was experiencing “softening demand.” 

(Photo: JLG)

Operating income for JLG was also significantly impacted, plunging -50.5% to $103.1 million, or 10.8% of sales, compared to $208.1 million, or 16.8%, a year earlier. Oshkosh said the drop reflected not only reduced volume and pricing pressures, but also higher operating and development expenses, less favorable manufacturing absorption and ongoing investment in new product development. One bright spot, the OEM poinited out, was a slight offset in further sales declines due to business activities related to the company’s acquisition of Spanish OEM AUSA last year.

For the three months ending March 31, JLG’s aerial work platform sales totatled $450.8 million, down -23.7% from $591.0 million year-over-year. Telehandler sales also took a massive hit, down more than -35% to $244.5 million from last year’s $373.4 million. 

Oshkosh noted, however, JLG’s backlog remained stable at $1.8 billion, consistent with Q4 2024 levels, and that the figure is notably down (-57%) from March 2024. The company also reported positive market reception to its newly introduced micro scissors, unveiled at the ARA Show in February, and ongoing momentum from innovations like its ClearSky Smart Fleet and Jobsite of the Future technology, showcased at the Bauma trade show in Munich.

“We are pleased with our start to 2025, led by strong performance in our Vocational segment, double-digit margins in our Access segment and solid progress on the ramp-up of Next Generation Delivery Vehicle production. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.92 was in line with our expectations of approximately $2.00 per share,” said John Pfeifer, president and chief executive officer of Oshkosh Corporation. “These results reflect the strength of our team and our People First culture, our portfolio of industry-leading businesses and the resilience of our operating model.”

For Oshkosh as a whole, consolidated sales in the first quarter of 2025 decreased $231.0 million, or -9.1%, to $2.31 billion primarily due to lower sales volumes from JLG. 

Impact of tariffs on costs, shares

On the tariff front, Oshkosh said the company has “significant efforts underway” to mitigate potential tariff impacts.

“I want to make some key tariff points upfront,” Pfeifer said. “First, as we’ve said previously, nearly all of what we sell in the United States is built in The United States, and we have a broad U.S. production footprint, which we believe puts us in a strong competitive position in our industries. Second, we have a global supply chain, and we are proactively working to mitigate potential impacts from tariffs. Third, at this time, we are not experiencing significant secondary impacts of tariffs like supply chain disruptions or reductions in demand. And, fourth, we continue to execute on our strategies despite near term volatility as we believe the trends that support our industry leading businesses align with our long term growth initiatives.”

JLG isn’t a stranger to navigating complications surrounding tariffs. In response to duties the European Union applied to Chinese imports, JLG localized the production of booms at its Hinoa facility in Italy in response to duties that the European Union applied to Chinese imports. “I’m proud to report that it took our team less than a year to move production from China to Italy and begin shipping our first units to customers, thus mitigating the tariff impact,” Pfeifer noted. 

Matt Field, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Oshkosh, added, “Based on current announcements and what we are seeing as of today, we estimate that the direct impact of tariffs, net of targeted mitigation actions, could be about $1 per share. We are monitoring conditions closely and proactively working to mitigate the impact of tariffs through cost actions across the company.

“We believe these efforts may offset the impact of tariffs by up to $0.50 per share. We do not anticipate these tariffs will have a material impact on our second quarter results as we work through existing inventories. Our estimate of the direct impact of tariffs is based off currently announced rates and excludes potential future indirect impacts, which are difficult to predict at this time. We remain committed to execute on our strategies despite uncertainty introduced by tariffs, and we believe the trends that support industry leading businesses will provide long term growth opportunities.”