⚠ Sponsorship Tracks Results, and Results Are Not GuaranteedModerate threat
Ferrari (RACE) — threat to the moat
The badge survived a championship drought. The sponsorship revenue attached to it may not.
Formula 1 revenue depends on results, and Ferrari has spent much of the last two decades not winning.
The team is the marketing asset that pays for itself, funded by sponsors, engine customers and Formula 1's own distribution to teams. But sponsorship values track visibility and success, and a title sponsor negotiating after a poor season negotiates from a stronger position than one negotiating after a championship.
The exposure is real and growing. Sponsorship, commercial and brand revenue reached €820 million in 2025, up 22.4% — now 11.5% of total revenue, from 9.6% two years earlier.1 That line is compounding faster than the cars, which means Ferrari's revenue mix is drifting toward the part it controls least.
There is a deeper asymmetry. Racing failure does not appear to hurt car demand — the waiting list survived a long championship drought — but it does hurt what sponsors will pay. So the brand asset is more robust than the revenue line it generates, and the two should not be treated as one exposure.
Formula 1's commercial terms are also negotiated collectively with nine other teams.
Watch the brand line's growth rate through a bad season. If it holds, the sponsorship is buying the badge rather than the results.
- Moat Explorer calcSponsorship, commercial and brand revenue reached €820 million in 2025, up 22.4% — now 11.5% of total revenue, from 9.6% two years earlier. That line is compounding faster than the cars, which means Ferrari's revenue mix is drifting toward the part it controls least.Ferrari N.V., Form 20-F FY2025 — Item 5, Operating and Financial Review. Total shipments of 13,640 cars against 13,752 in 2024 and 13,663 in 2023; shipment figures exclude strictly limited racing cars such as those in the XX Programme and the 499P Modificata, as well as one-off, pre-owned and other special sales. Net revenues of EUR7,146M, up 7.0%. Net revenues from cars and spare parts were EUR6,005M, an increase of EUR277M or 4.8% on EUR5,728M in 2024 and EUR5,119M in 2023, attributed primarily to a richer product and country mix as well as a higher contribution from personalization, more than offsetting the lower contribution from the Daytona SP3 whose limited series deliveries concluded in the third quarter of 2025; foreign currency effects including hedging were negative. Sponsorship, commercial and brand revenues were EUR820M, up 22.4% from EUR670M and EUR572M in the two prior years, comprising sponsorship of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari share of the Formula 1 World Championship commercial revenues distributed to teams, and lifestyle, merchandising, licensing and royalty income; other net revenues were EUR321M, up EUR42M. Selling, general and administrative costs were EUR642M in 2025, an increase of EUR81M or 14.5% on EUR561M, and 9.0% of net revenues against 8.4%, attributed primarily to racing expenses and brand investments as well as organizational development. Net revenues by year run EUR3,105M (2016), EUR3,417M, EUR3,420M, EUR3,766M, EUR3,460M (2020), EUR4,271M, EUR5,095M, EUR5,970M, EUR6,677M and EUR7,146M (2025). — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02 · source ↗