A two-year program to reduce costs and increase margins in the tire business has succeeded, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. CEO Mark Stewart said Tuesday, even as tariffs and other disruptions have made the work more challenging.
The Goodyear Forward plan intended to reduce costs by $1.3 billion by the end of 2025 while also increasing margins, leaders said when the program was announced at the end of 2023.
By the end of 2025, the company said, Goodyear Forward had generated $1.25 billion in operating income benefits, the company said in a news release, exceeding its original plans. And Goodyear sold three businesses, generating $2.3 billion in proceeds that it used to reduce its debt.
The company expects to continue to see benefits from the cost-cutting program, Stewart said.
“We’re still executing with discipline,” he said on a conference call for investors.
Goodyear adds more products
Goodyear has focused on having a wide range of prices available and on selling higher-margin tires, Stewart said in the conference call.
He said the company has raised its prices in response to tariffs. It has also increased the number of products it offers to the most in company history.
Still, he said, consumers are slower to replace their tires, driving farther before buying new ones.
While he said Goodyear is controlling what it can, “It’s clear that progress isn’t linear in today’s environment.”
“There’s market improvement and continued self help,” Stewart said. “We are not waiting for the market.”
No ‘restructuring 2.0’ program
Goodyear’s sales were down in 2025, but its revenue per tire increased, said Christina Zamarro, the company’s CFO. She said targeted work to reduce debt has been beneficial for the business; debt is down $1.6 billion from the year prior.
But there have been overall weak conditions in the industry, she said, and the company reported a loss of $1.7 billion for the full year. In the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, Goodyear made $105 million.
Zamarro said she anticipates continued volatility and more effects from tariffs.
Goodyear has another 1,700 new products it’s ready to launch in 2026, Stewart said, which he expects to help drive business. Zamarro said commercial business is expected to increase this year, too.
And the company continues to work on cost efficiency, even if the Goodyear Forward plan itself has ended. More savings should be seen as a result of the work to this point, Stewart said, including an expected $300 million benefit in 2026.
A spokesperson for the company, Kelly McGlumphy, said in an email that the disciplines of Goodyear Forward are “now embedded in how we operate every day.”
“We’re not rolling out a big restructuring 2.0 at this point,” Stewart said. “It really is about execution right now.”