There's a reason Nissan Altima drivers are the butt of every joke – and it turns out the whole company might be the punchline. After some brutal quarterly results, shares of the Japanese automaker tanked an eye-watering 10.12%.

Shares of Nissan hit a four-year low after the company reported its latest quarterly earnings, and the numbers aren’t just bad – they’re ‘did someone triple-check this?’ bad. Nissan’s operating profit nosedived nearly 85% year-over-year, down to a meager $208 million, a far cry from the $1.26 billion they reported this time last year. Revenues took a 5% hit, landing at $19.5 billion, and net income swung to a loss of $62 million. 

Nissan’s response? Crash Slash and burn. The company announced plans to cut its global production capacity by 20% and lay off 9,000 employees. CEO Makoto Uchida is also taking one for the team – or at least half of one. Uchida and other top execs volunteered for a 50% pay cut, likely while thinking, “So this is what rock bottom feels like.”

If investors were hoping for some consolation in the form of dividends, they're out of luck. Nissan’s board got rid of both interim and year-end dividend payouts (this is why you should be careful buying a stock purely for their dividends). Investors are left high and dry (kind of like Altima drivers who thought they were buying a luxury sedan but got a vehicle now infamous for its rep on the road).

Nissan’s struggles seem to be spilling over into its partnerships, too. Mitsubishi recently announced it’s buying back a big chunk of its shares from Nissan, reducing Nissan’s stake in Mitsubishi from 34% to 24%. The buyback may look like a distancing maneuver, but the two companies are still technically “collaborating,” though details on that remain foggy. Mitsubishi plans to keep working with Nissan on select projects, like their joint vehicles for international markets, but the reduced stake hints at a little less enthusiasm from Mitsubishi to stay closely tied to Nissan’s tirefire.

Nissan’s new plan is to “streamline operations,” which sounds suspiciously like they’re cutting costs to keep the company alive. They’re aiming to reduce fixed costs by $1.9 billion and variable costs by another $649 million. 

Uchida claims this restructuring isn’t about shrinking but about becoming “leaner and more resilient.” In other words, they’re hoping these cuts will make Nissan “sustainably profitable” by 2026, even if sales stay flat. 

(Source: AutoNews)

Nissan's been coasting on its reputation for too long. The Altima, once a trusty sedan, has somehow become shorthand for reckless driving and bad decisions. And now Nissan is facing its own string of questionable moves. It’s not just Altima jokes piling up – Nissan has also fallen behind on hybrids and EVs, a huge misstep in an industry racing toward electrification. In the U.S., sales for their EV lineup are struggling, partly because they don’t qualify for that $7,500 tax credit. On the flip side, rivals like Toyota and Tesla are thriving with their eco-friendly offerings.

Here’s the takeaway: Nissan’s dug itself a pretty deep hole, handing their competitors the shovel while Mitsubishi inches away. Rising costs, a failure to keep up with hybrid and EV trends, and disappointing market performance in the U.S. and China have driven the brand to the edge. 

Will Nissan’s cost-cutting measures save the day? Maybe. But until then, don’t be surprised if the Altima remains the butt of everyone’s jokes, while Mitsubishi watches from a safer distance. Oh, and just while I was writing this, Nissan dropped even more (down 7% today already).

P.S. Don’t let your trading account become the butt of a Nissan Altima joke. While their stock just tanked 10%, our last Wild Friday Alert popped off with a 116% jump in minutes—and we’ve been hitting at least one 100%+ winner every single week on average since we started. Click here to join Stocks.News Premium, and make sure your portfolio isn’t the next thing people are laughing about.

Stock.News has positions in Tesla.