S&P cuts Toyota’s credit rating outlook

Proving the meltdown in the auto industry knows no bounds, Standard & Poor’s has lowered Toyota’s credit rating outlook.

While the automaker’s AAA rating (the highest investment grade) was affirmed, S&P’s action signals a downgrade is more likely that it was. 

S&P says Toyota is also subject to the worldwide decline in vehicle sales and that the company’s profitability will see significant pressure. Toyota has already said it expects the largest drop in profits in 18 years as the U.S. market, the Japanese automaker’s largest foreign market and the source of much of the company’s profitability, continues to deteriorate.

In November, Fitch cut Toyota’s rating by two levels to ‘AA’ citing shrinking sales.