At x0.6 for shareholders' equity, despite a plethora of excess cash and a good track record of profitability, less than x4 for net income expected this year, and a dividend yield of almost 9%, it's hard not to salivate at the stock's valuation ratios.

Notwithstanding all the healthy reservations that cautious investors will have about the automotive sector - which is radioactive in its entirety, like the airlines and steel industries - Stellantis, as we know, operates a superb portfolio of brands and defends an excellent balance sheet.

However, these assets were not enough to prevent a downturn in the economy that was eagerly awaited by the analyst consensus. In North America in particular, the market is likely to suffer over the next few months from the fateful combination of three factors: an equipment cycle at the end of its course, galloping inflation, and tighter financing conditions since the rise in interest rates.

Stellantis, which has been extremely aggressive in its price increase strategy in recent years, is the first major manufacturer to bear the brunt of this downturn. In this context, it would be surprising if its operating margin did not contract sharply over the coming quarters.

In addition to these fears, investors are very apprehensive about the economic viability of electric vehicles. Sales of electric vehicles are collapsing all over Europe and the United States, while regulations on the Old Continent are slow to adopt the necessary protective measures to cope with the onslaught of China.

In the first half of the year, Stellantis saw its sales fall by 14%, and its operating profit halved. Cash generation from industrial activities was negative over the period, but Carlos Tavares promises to bring it back into positive territory by the end of the year.

The situation is noticeably better at Ford, which also reported its half-year results the day before yesterday. Despite an electric segment that continues to burn almost $5 billion a year - a loss of over $40,000 per vehicle sold - the American automaker posted a 4.2% rise in sales, while operating profit fell by "only" a third.

Tavares points out that Stellantis will have launched around twenty models by 2024, including new versions of the blockbusters RAM 1500 and Peugeot 3008, and that the group will return EUR7.7 billion to its shareholders this year - divided between EUR4.7 billion in dividends and EUR3 billion in share buy-backs. These figures inevitably raise questions when compared with the current enterprise value of EUR50 billion.