Harley-Davidson Isn’t Tanking Because of “Wokeness”—It’s Just Out of Touch

Harley Davidson just wiped out 12% of its stock value this week after dropping an earnings report as flat as a IHOP pancake. Retail sales tanked, with North America taking the hardest hit. CEO Jochen Zeitz tried to explain the mess by pointing fingers at their “iffy” DEI policy, but could it be that people don’t want to spend car money on a motorcycle?

Let’s be real: Harley-Davidson’s downward spiral has nothing to do with DEI policies (though those haven’t exactly saved them). Their stock is tanking, and sales are barely treading water.

No, Harley’s having a midlife crisis because it’s clinging to an era that’s been dead since your dad’s mullet. The company’s recent earnings are a disaster, and sales keep dropping. Why? Their customers are retiring—and let’s be honest, today’s younger buyers don’t want to spend $30,000 on a two-wheeled chrome dinosaur that spends half its time in the shop and the other half in their garage. 

Back in the late ’80s and ’90s, Harley was raking it in. Boomers had disposable income, interest rates were low, and everyone was embracing the “weekend outlaw” fantasy. Harley had dentists, middle managers, and soccer dads shelling out big bucks to feel like rebel road warriors on the weekends. And Harley made a killing selling them that fantasy. But nostalgia isn’t paying the bills.

This past quarter, Harley’s North American sales took a 10% crapper, and they’re now predicting a full-year revenue drop of 14% to 16%. They even cut operating margin expectations down to 7.5%-8.5%. CEO Jochen Zeitz was out here saying, “Hey, high interest rates and macroeconomic pressures are making it tough.” Which—sure, but isn’t that just fancy talk for, “People aren’t buying our bikes because they cost as much as a mid-sized SUV”?

Times changed, and Harley… didn’t. Enter Millennials and Gen Z: generations paying off student loans, rent prices that look like mortgage payments, and houses that don’t cost $5k in the suburbs. A $30K weekend toy just isn’t in the cards. But hey, turns out people want to actually afford things like groceries and maybe a little fun money.

The DEI “problem” Harley tried to blame? It’s barely a blip in their playbook. Harley’s idea of diversity is saying the word in a board meeting and calling it a day. And yet they’ve latched onto this narrative, saying DEI is why they’re tanking. Newsflash: Harley isn’t flopping because it went “woke” for a few months; it’s flopping because it’s been selling the same outdated bikes to the same crowd for decades.

The thing is, young people just aren’t lining up to buy what Harley’s selling. Most can’t relate to a brand that’s still so heavily focused on that old-school, “wild HOG” image. Harley’s website, dealerships, rallies—it’s mostly just older folks, and you can see it from a mile away. DEI didn’t push those customers away. Harley’s inability to adapt did.

Harley execs still don’t seem to get it. Instead of adapting, they’re doubling down on the same strategy, still marketing exclusively to the leather-loving, weekend-warrior crowd. So, if you’re waiting for Harley to make a comeback, don’t hold your breath. Unless Harley realizes it’s no longer 1985, the brand’s riding straight into a ditch.

So, no—Harley-Davidson isn’t in trouble because of DEI, wokeness, or any of that noise. It’s struggling because it built an entire empire on a fantasy that’s run its course. If Harley’s end comes, it’ll be from years of refusing to change, the misguided belief that nostalgia can carry a brand, and a stubborn inability to see past its own exhaust fumes. Or, as Darwin (probably) said: adapt or die. Harley’s holding tight to the second option.

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Stock.News has positions in Harley Davison and IHOP mentioned in article.