Ford Motor (F) maintained 2023 outlook after crushing first-quarter earnings estimates late Tuesday. F stock fell in late Tuesday trading.
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Ford Earnings
Estimates: Analysts polled by FactSet expect Ford earnings to rebound nearly 10%, year over year, to 42 cents per share. Revenue is seen bouncing 14% to $39.25 billion, including automotive revenue of $36.134 billion.
In the year-ago quarter, Ford earnings plunged 46%, hurt by lower delivery volumes due to the chip shortage and other supply disruptions.
Results: Ford earnings leapt nearly 66% to 63 cents a share. Revenue grew 20% to $41.5 billion. The company generated $693 million in adjusted free cash flow.
Profitability in the quarter benefited from “a favorable mix of products, higher net pricing and increased volume,” Ford said in a release.
Outlook: Ford maintained its full-year 2023 guidance, first issued in early February. That includes guidance for adjusted EBIT of $9 billion to $11 billion and adjusted free
cash flow of about $6 billion.
For full-year 2023, analysts forecast adjusted EBIT of $9.59 billion, near the low end of the company’s guidance for $9 billion-$11 billion.
On a per-share basis, the Street expects Ford earnings of $1.62 for the full year, an almost 14% drop from 2022.
F Stock, Price Cuts
Shares of Ford Motor lost 1.5% in extended Tuesday trading. They fell 2.2% to 11.80 in the regular session on the stock market today, just under the 50-day moving average. F stock remains well below the 200-day average.
Traditional automakers, including Ford and General Motors (GM) continue to shift away from internal combustion-engine (ICE) cars to electric vehicles, or EVs, pioneered by Tesla (TSLA).
On Tuesday morning, Ford announced it will cut prices again on its Mustang Mach-E SUV, while reopening orders and ramping production for the Model Y rival. Hours earlier, Tesla slightly hiked Model Y and Model 3 prices in several countries, after a series of recent price cuts raised margin concerns.
The lower Mach-E pricing follows a move to lower-cost, iron-based batteries, according to a Ford news release. It also reflects fierce competition in the fast-growing global market for electric vehicles.
GM stock shed 1.2% Tuesday after falling last week despite strong earnings and guidance. TSLA stock gave up nearly 1% amid EV price hikes in various countries.
Ford To Launch New Model — For Its Business
The Ford earnings report is likely to be its first to break down financial results by three new business entities. In a significant break from the past, Ford will no longer report results by regional markets, the company announced in March.
Those new entities include Ford Blue, holding the legacy internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicle business; and Ford Pro, targeting commercial and government customers. It also includes Ford Model e, containing the automaker’s emerging and loss-making electric vehicle (EV) and software businesses.
During Q1, Ford lost $722 million making electric vehicles, the earnings release showed. Ford Blue and Ford Pro posted profits of $2.6 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively.
In Q1, Ford’s total U.S. sales in units rose 10.7% to 456,972 vehicles, the company previously disclosed. During the quarter, its EV sales jumped 41% to 10,866 units, marking strong growth off a low base.
Tailwinds to sales and Ford earnings include supply chain improvements, higher industry volumes, and lower material costs, the company said in February.
Headwinds include risk of recession in the U.S. and Europe, the strong dollar, and lower profit from its car financing arm, Ford added.
Other EV Stocks
Meanwhile, Lordstown Motors (RIDE), an EV startup, warned in a filing Monday that it may go bankrupt if a funding deal with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn doesn’t come through. RIDE stock closed down 23% to 40 cents Monday and rallied 16.3% Tuesday.
Foxconn appeared to back away from the investment deal after Lordstown received a Nasdaq delisting notice, with its shares trading under $1 for 30 consecutive days.
Lordstown’s startup peers Rivian (RIVN), Lucid (LCID) and Fisker (FSR) were mixed Tuesday.
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