Aston Martin Lagonda‘s (LSE: AML) share performance has generated headlines ever since the company listed just over seven years ago. Sadly for anyone who bought the stock along the way, these have been consistently negative.

And there’s been no let up in 2025.

Another tough year

Put simply, this firm can’t stop burning through cash, forcing analysts to continually ponder its financial stability. This hasn’t been helped by weaker-than-expected sales leading to profit warnings.

To be fair, some of the company’s woes have been beyond its control. These include President Trump’s ongoing tariff tantrum and a slowdown in key markets such as China.

Aston’s management has cut jobs in an attempt to limit the damage. It’s also postponed its first foray into the electric vehicle market — originally seen as a potential catalyst for growth.

But such moves hardly inspire confidence and more shareholders have jumped ship. And I really can’t blame them.

Heavy loss

A stake of £10,000 at the start of the year would now be worth just £4,800 (as I type). That’s a shockingly poor outcome considering that a bog-standard index tracker following the normally-sluggish FTSE 100 would have gained around 20% (again, at the time of writing). The latter would also have paid dividends.

The same goes for a fund tracking the FTSE 250 — the index in which Aston Martin features. While it’s gained less than its big brother, it’s still put in a more-than-decent performance in 2025.

By sharp contrast, the car manufacturer’s never returned cash to its investors in the form of passive income. And, based on recent form, I can’t see this happening for a long time, if ever.

In this fight, the slow, steady and diversified approach has easily won out against stock-picking.

Are Aston Martin shares doomed?

Considering the shares have now lost nearly 99% of their value since listing, investors could be forgiven for thinking that we’re witnessing the slow, painful demise of another British brand.

But this might not necessarily be the case. The arrival of new models could give the share price a much-needed shot in the arm.

There isn’t much interest from short sellers at the moment either. In other words, few traders are betting the share price is going lower. Or perhaps they just see less downside in Aston Martin shares compared to some other UK stocks?

Regardless, a lot will surely depend on what management has to say about how FY26 is shaping up when full-year results for 2025 are put out towards the end of February. If worse than expected, the shares could tumble again. And if they’re slightly better than expected, the shares could conceivably rocket (at least temporarily).

Beautiful cars but…

Despite this, I can’t put my own money to work here. Net debt’s roughly twice the value of the entire company! That’s not going to come down without some seriously good trading.

In my view, there are far better — and far less stressful — opportunities for making money elsewhere.

While the cars may be beautiful to look at and (I’m assuming) great to drive, I can’t say the same thing about this company as an investment.

A donkey that looks like a stallion is still a donkey.