Ford (F) stock cratered Thursday after the automaker missed on second quarter profit on Wednesday and did not lift its full-year profit guidance like its Big Three rival GM.
For the quarter, Ford reported revenue of $47.8 billion vs. $43.37 billion estimated (per Bloomberg consensus). Ford's adjusted EPS of $0.47 missed the $0.67 estimated, on adjusted EBIT of $2.8 billion vs. $3.73 billion expected.
Ford shares were down over 17% on Thursday afternoon.
In terms of guidance, Ford maintained its current full-year adjusted EBIT of $10 billion to $12 billion, but the company did raise its adjusted free cash flow forecast by $1 billion to between $7.5 billion and $8.5 billion.
“We don’t see the second half being much different than the first half, or falling off,” Ford CFO John Lawler said in a call with reporters. Lawler said higher warranty costs were eating into gains made at Ford Pro. "That was part of our guidance, and we’re planning on managing that.”
Ford's drop came as part of disappointing performances by big automakers so far this quarter. General Motors (GM), despite an earnings beat and guidance boost, saw its shares fall as the company once again pushed back an EV plant start date, with analysts also concerned the company's earnings peak was behind it. Stellantis (STLA) stock was down over 7% after its own disappointing results.
As part of its Ford+ plan, Ford divided its business into three units: Ford Blue for the traditional gas-powered business, Ford Model e for the EV division, and Ford Pro for its commercial and super duty truck business. Ford's Q2 breakdown is as follows:
Ford Blue: $26.7 billion, $1.171 billion in EBIT
Model e: $1.1 billion revenue, ($1.143 billion) EBIT loss
Ford Pro: $17 billion revenue, $2.564 billion in EBIT
“Ford+ is on track, our underlying quality is improving, and Ford Pro is showing the huge upside we’ve got in all our businesses,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the earnings release. “Transparency and accountability from having separate teams focused on the needs of different customers are leading to better decisions and greater value for everyone.”
Ford Pro is a highlight for the automaker, with the commercial unit's profits exceeding its Ford Blue traditional gas-powered vehicle business. On the flip side is Ford’s Model e EV unit, which lost another $1.143 billion in EBIT and is expected to lose $5.5 billion in 2024.
That is not to say Ford’s EVs have not been selling. Ford’s Q1 US deliveries were relatively flat for the quarter, up 0.8% year over year to 536,050 vehicles, but EV sales jumped 61.4% in the quarter, powered by sales of the Mustang Mach-E, Ford Lightning pickup, and E-Transit EV van. Hybrid sales also surged in Q2 to the tune of 55.6%.
Ford also saw a recovery in its truck sales, with that segment up 4.5% to 308,920 units in Q2. Ford Ranger, Maverick, and Expedition powered the results, but F-Series pickup sales slipped 6%, as Ford’s rollout of the all-new F-150 was delayed at the start of the year.
The F-Series and the commercial Super Duty trucks that power Ford Pro’s results are crucial for Ford's earnings this year and going forward. In fact, Ford announced last week that it will boost Super Duty production by converting its Oakville assembly plant meant for EV trucks to Super Duty trucks by 2026 as Ford tries to meet demand for its larger Super Duty trucks.
The EV pushback at Oakville came as Ford delayed EV production at its massive BlueOval City EV campus in Tennessee to 2026 from its initial 2025 start date.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering the auto industry. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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