Goodyear: A Treadmark of Uncertainty

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Goodyear Image

The matter of LM Asset Management, Inc.’s acquisition of further shares in The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT 6.25%) has been duly recorded, a transaction amounting to an estimated $9.22 million, calculated by the imprecise and ultimately arbitrary metric of quarterly average pricing. It is a transaction, like all transactions, that leads only to further transactions, a ceaseless circling of capital in a system whose ultimate purpose remains obscured, even to those who operate within it.

The Increment of Ownership

On February 13, 2026, the aforementioned LM Asset Management, Inc. increased its position in Goodyear by 1,170,000 shares. The calculation of this increase, based on the closing prices of a previous quarter, feels less like a determination of value and more like an attempt to impose order on a fundamentally chaotic market. The fund’s total Goodyear stake reached 1,680,000 shares, an increase of $10.90 million, a figure that seems substantial until one considers the vastness of the sums that flow through these channels, disappearing into an unknowable elsewhere.

The Weight of Portfolio Allocation

This acquisition elevates Goodyear to 11.64% of LM Asset Management, Inc.’s 13F reportable assets under management. A percentage, of course, is merely a fraction, a representation of a portion, a symbolic division of a whole. The fund’s top five holdings, as of this reporting, are as follows:

  • NYSE: VET: $31,433,746 (25% of AUM)
  • NYSE: LUMN: $29.04 million (23.2% of AUM)
  • NYSEMKT: GTE: $15.65 million (12.5% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ: GT: $14.72 million (11.8% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ: TSAT: $9.52 million (7.6% of AUM)

These holdings, presented in a linear fashion, suggest a logical structure, a reasoned allocation of resources. But the true logic, if it exists, is concealed within the complex interplay of market forces, a system that operates according to rules that are often unspoken and rarely understood.

As of February 13, 2026, Goodyear shares were priced at $9.44, a 15.5% increase over the past year, exceeding the S&P 500 by 3.75 percentage points. These numbers, meticulously recorded and endlessly analyzed, offer a fleeting illusion of control, a momentary respite from the underlying uncertainty.

The Company: A Profile in Rubber and Debt

Metric Value
Revenue (TTM) $18.28 billion
Net income (TTM) ($1.72 billion)
Price (as of market close February 13, 2026) $9.44
One-year price change 15.5%

The Apparatus of Production

  • The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company manufactures a range of tires for various vehicles and equipment, alongside retreading services. A process of endless replication and replacement.
  • The firm operates a vertically integrated model, encompassing manufacturing, distribution, and retail. A complete system, self-contained and ultimately inescapable.
  • It serves a global customer base, relying on a network of dealers, distributors, and retail outlets. A web of dependencies, each strand connected to the others.

Goodyear, a leading tire manufacturer, maintains a significant presence in the global market. The company’s diversified portfolio and vertically integrated model allow it to capture value across the tire supply chain. An efficient machine, relentlessly producing and consuming.

The Meaning of the Transaction (or the Lack Thereof)

Turnarounds, if they occur at all, are rarely straightforward. The fact that operating income has reached a seven-year high is, perhaps, a cause for cautious optimism, or merely a temporary aberration. Goodyear’s fourth quarter presents a more nuanced picture than the headline annual loss suggests. Net sales remained essentially flat year over year, while segment operating income rose by 9%, pushing the margin to 8.5%. The Goodyear Forward program delivered $192 million in quarterly benefits and $1.25 billion cumulatively, while divestitures generated $2.3 billion in proceeds, largely used to reduce debt. A complex accounting of gains and losses, a shifting of numbers that obscures the underlying reality.

Full-year numbers are distorted by non-cash charges, including a $1.5 billion deferred tax valuation allowance and a $674 million goodwill impairment. Yet, adjusted net income for 2025 still came in at $136 million, or $0.47 per share. These figures, meticulously calculated and endlessly debated, offer a fleeting illusion of stability, a momentary respite from the underlying chaos.

This portfolio already leans heavily into cyclical names like Vermilion and Lumen, so adding Goodyear deepens that theme. Long-term investors should watch free cash flow consistency and whether the operating margin can hold above 8% without one-time benefits. If Goodyear Forward continues to translate into structural cost savings, today’s valuation could look less like a trap and more like leverage to an industrial rebound. Or it could simply be another turn of the wheel, another cycle of hope and disappointment.

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2026-02-18 00:53