ALV vs HMC: How Autoliv and Honda Motor Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: HMC is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ALV and HMC share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ALV and HMC exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE: ALV) is the global leader in passive automotive safety, supplying airbags, seatbelts, steering wheels, and related components to essentially every major automaker. The company holds roughly a 44 to 45 percent share of the worldwide passive-safety market, well ahead of its nearest rivals, and generated about $10.8 billion in net sales in 2025. Its content sits inside cars regardless of powertrain, so it participates in electric, hybrid, and combustion vehicles alike, and demand is underpinned by rising safety regulation and the steady increase in safety content per vehicle.

Full ALV guide

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC) is a Japanese manufacturer that makes money across four segments: automobiles, motorcycles, power products, and financial services. Automobiles generate the largest share of revenue, but the motorcycle business is Honda's profit engine and competitive crown jewel: in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 it sold a record 20.57 million motorcycles, roughly 40% of the global market, with about 85% of those units coming from Asian markets such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Honda earns money by designing, building, and selling these vehicles and engines worldwide, supported by a captive finance arm that helps customers and dealers fund purchases. US investors typically buy Honda through HMC, an American Depositary Receipt that represents shares of the Tokyo-listed company (7267.T), so its dollar price reflects both the underlying stock and the yen-dollar exchange rate.

Full HMC guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ALV drivers: Market leadership and safety content growth; Margin expansion and cost discipline.
• HMC drivers: Motorcycles carry the company; EV-to-hybrid strategy reset.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Autoliv's results are tightly linked to global light-vehicle production, which is cyclical and can fall sharply in a downturn. For HMC, honda's results are cyclical and rise and fall with global auto demand, so revenue and margins can swing sharply with the economy.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ALV if you believe its drivers more; HMC if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ALV and HMC guides.

ALV. Autoliv trades at a low double-digit earnings multiple typical of an auto supplier, reflecting its cyclicality despite its leading market position. FY2025 delivered record adjusted operating income of about $1.1 billion at roughly a 10.3 percent adjusted margin, and Q1 2026 sales grew about 6.8 percent to $2.75 billion on strength in Asia. Management reiterated full-year 2026 guidance for roughly flat organic sales and an adjusted operating margin near 10.5 to 11 percent.

HMC. Reading a Japanese automaker's ADR takes a few adjustments. Honda reports in yen on a fiscal year ending March 31, so dollar figures and the HMC ADR price both move with the yen-dollar exchange rate, and a stronger yen can lift translated results even if underlying sales are flat. Automakers also tend to trade at low valuation multiples because earnings are cyclical, and one-time items like the up-to-$15.7 billion EV write-down can swing reported profit dramatically, pushing a trailing P/E negative even when the core business still generates cash. Many investors therefore lean on revenue, unit sales, book value, and dividend yield alongside the headline earnings number.

Headline figures (approximate, MAY 2026): ALV shows revenue (ttm) ~$11.0B, fy2025 net sales ~$10.8B, q1 2026 net sales ~$2.75B (up ~6.8% YoY), market cap ~$9.0B; HMC shows revenue (fy2025) ~JPY 21.7 trillion (~$140 billion), up about 6.2% year over year, operating profit (fy2025) ~JPY 1.21 trillion (~$7.8 billion), down about 12.2%, net income (fy2025) ~JPY 835.8 billion (~$5.7 billion), down about 24.5%; FY2026 revised to a consolidated loss of ~JPY 420 to 690 billion ($2.6 to 4.3 billion), unit sales (fy2025) ~3.75 million automobiles and a record 20.57 million motorcycles (about 40% of the global motorcycle market).

ALV and HMC are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ALV and HMC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.