Do you own a Harley-Davidson bike, and you’re curious about the current owners of the Harley-Davidson company in 2022? If so, then you are definitely in the right place.
Harley-Davidson is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HOG. The majority of its shares are owned by institutional investors, with Jochen Zeitz serving as the CEO.
In this article, you will get to know all about the Harley-Davidson company, who owns Harley-Davidson company in 2022, the other entities owned by Harley-Davidson, further considerations for Harley-Davidson, and more. Continue reading to learn more about the answers that you are looking for.
Harley-Davidson – An iconic name in the motorcycle industry
Harley-Davidson is easily one of the most iconic names in the motorcycle industry. In considerable part, this is because the brand has been around since the early 20th century. It means that the company has had more than enough time to build up its brand. Thanks to that, Harley-Davidson is widely considered to be one of the most iconic American motorcycle companies.
For bikers who aren’t familiar, the origins of the company go back to William S. Harley and his friend Arthur Davidson, who started work on a motor-bicycle back in 1901. Their eventual creation had serious flaws but, nonetheless, still served as a valuable learning experience. Hence, it paved the way for the friends and two of Davidson’s brothers to start their journey as motorcycle manufacturers.
By 1920, Harley-Davidson had already become the biggest brand of its kind in the entire world. However, they took a horrendous hit during the Great Depression. To have a better idea of the extent of the damage, the company had 21,000 sales in 1929. It fell down to just 3,703 sales in 1933. Still, Harley-Davidson was big enough to survive the Great Depression. Something that was true for just two American motorcycle manufacturers.
Since World War II, Harley-Davidson has seen good as well as bad times. However, its staying power can be seen in the fact that it’s still around, although it is now in its second century of life. Moreover, the brand has spread its wing and gone beyond bikes. It has also delved into the world of apparel, accessories, toy, home decor, and more.
A brief history of the brand Harley-Davidson
A true American success story, Harley-Davidson is a brand with humble beginnings in a 10Ă—15-foot wooden shack. However, the brand has always respected and stayed true to its roots. The company is still headquartered in Appleton, Harley-Davidson at the same location in Milwaukee where the first bikes were made.
Interestingly, the name Harley-Davidson does not actually belong to a real person. In fact, one of Harley-Davidson’s two founders was William S. Harley, who actually designed the bicycle engine, which started it all in 1901. Here’s a timeline of the rich history of the Harley-Davidson brand and how it has progressed through the years.
- 1901 – Harley and William S. Davidson decided to collaborate on the first Harley-Davidson bike
- 1905 – The Harley-Davidson bike officially wins a 15-mile race in Chicago in a bit over 19 hoursÂ
- 1907 – Harley and Davidson improve the production and it ramps up thanks to the new, large factory
- 1909 – Harley-Davidson officially introduces the conic V-twin 7 HP horsepower motorcycleÂ
- 1913 – The network of United States Harley-Davidson dealers starts growing and eclipses over 200
- 1919 – Almost half of the bikes produced during this year get sold for use in World War I
- 1928 – Two-cam engines start appearing on JD Series bikes, which allows them to hit top speeds of around 85 to 100 mph
- 1945 – Over the course of World War II, Harley-Davidson manages to sell more than 60,000 WLA model bikes for military useÂ
- 1955 – A Harley-Davidson model wins the first of 7 consecutive victories at the Daytona 200Â
- 1957 – The Sportster superbike is officially bornÂ
- 1969 – Harley-Davidson briefly merges with the American Machine and Foundry Company (AMF)
- 1973 – Harley-Davidson assembly operations get moved to a new 400,000 square-foot plant in York, PN
- 1981 – Thirteen Harley-Davidson executives purchase the company back from AMF
- 1990 – 1990 sees the birth of the legendary FLSTF FatboyÂ
- 2009 – Harley-Davidson decides to expand production to IndiaÂ
Who owns Harley-Davidson in 2022?
With Harley-Davidson being such an iconic brand, it’s natural for bikers to wonder about the ownership of the brand. Even more so as Harley-Davidson is a brand that has changed multiple times over the course of its existence. Fortunately, it’s simple to know who owns Harley-Davidson.
After all, it is currently a public company, a kind of corporation. It means that a type of business that possesses a legal existence separate from its owners, who are only recognized as owns due to their possession of the corporation’s stock shares. Public companies like Harley-Davidson have their stock shares owned by shareholders in the general public. Something that has been made possible by the free trade of stock shares on stock exchanges and over-the-counter markets.
In simple words, Harley-Davidson has numerous owners as it has numerous shareholders. Of course, it’s important to note that certain shareholders are more important than others when it comes to huge corporations. After all, more shares will mean having a bigger say over a number of significant matters, although most shareholders remain separate from the actual day-to-day running of corporations.
In the case of Harley-Davidson, the biggest shareholders of the brand are well known. The five biggest shareholders of Harley-Davidson are the Vanguard Group, Boston Partners Global Investors, BlackRock Fund Advisors, Beutel, Goodman & Co, and H. Partners Management. Out of these shareholders, Beutel, Goodman & Co. owns the least with just 4.54% of outstanding shares. This is slightly less than the others, who have between 7-9 percent each.
Every single one of these entities owns hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of stock. This makes total sense as the company has a market capitalization of close to $6 billion.
What are the other entities owned by Harley-Davidson?
Harley-Davidson has seen multiple ownership changes over the course of its existence. Initially, the brand was owned by its founders, which was the result of Harley-Davidson being owned by its founder families. Later, Harley-Davidson decided to go public in 1965. However, the brand soon started struggling, so much so that it began looking for either a merger or a buy-out.
Eventually, the brand merged with American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in 1969. Many people might not be familiar with that name. If so, then you must know that AMF met with its own difficulties in the late 70s and early 80s due to quality control problems, aging facilities, and an extremely diversified portfolio of products that was a big struggle to manage. As such, it sold off its assets before it went defunct in 1985. In any case, this move enabled Harley-Davidson to survive through the 70s.
By the end of the decade, its leadership was starting to eye an exit. The result was that they made a successful attempt to purchase back the company, and it was completed in 1981.
Future considerations by Harley-Davidson
Currently, Harley-Davidson is essentially a public company. However, it’s worth noting that anything can happen in the future. Since the change in regime a few years back, things are looking brighter and upward for Harley-Davidson. The company’s iconic brand still remains attractive, although the financials have fluctuated. In fact, Harley-Davidson is among the most valuable motorcycle brands on the planet.
In the future, Harley-Davidson will be investing significant time and resources to strengthen and grow its leadership position in its strongest and most profitable motorcycle segments. Those segments include Touring, Cruisers, and Trike motorcycles. These segments are among the most profitable, while they demonstrate steady aggregate demand for new and used sales.
Harley-Davidson has major plans going forward, and it’s known as the Hardwire. The Hardwire is Harley’s 2021-2025 strategic plan, and it is guided by the company’s mission and vision. The plan is to target long-term profitable growth through focused efforts that strengthen the brand and drive value for all stakeholders. The Hardwire is designed for enhancing the desirability of Harley-Davidson and fuel the unique lifestyle brand. The brand’s efforts unlock the potential of the most important products, geographies, and segments. It includes growth in the complementary business and selective expansion into new segments where there is a path to leadership.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading. Hopefully, now you know a lot more about the Harley-Davidson company, who owns Harley-Davidson company in 2022, the other entities owned by Harley-Davidson, further considerations for Harley-Davidson, and more. The Harley-Davidson company in 2022 is owned by Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, Inc. The company has many major shareholders, with the five biggest shareholders being Boston partners Global Investors, BlackRock Fund Advisors, the Vanguard Group, Beutel Goodman & Co, and H Partners Management.