5 big analyst AI moves: Apple lifted to Buy, AI chip bets reassessed
Investing.com -- Shares of Ford Motor ticked up in premarket U.S. trading on Friday after the carmaker posted quarterly income which topped expectations thanks to strong demand for its SUVs and pickup trucks.
Net income jumped to $2.4 billion, versus $900 million a year earlier. Per-share, earnings during Ford’s third quarter were $0.45, above LSEG estimates of $0.36 cited by Reuters.
The company is now turning its attention to a possibly mitigated impact from sweeping U.S. tariffs, with Trump recently approving an order to expand tax credits for U.S. auto and engine production. Executives said that the levies will now cost the business $1 billion, down from a prediction of $3 billion in July, because of the tariff relief.
CFO Sherry House said Ford would have raised its annual financial forecast, but was ultimately forced to slash the outlook because of a fire at a critical aluminum supplier. The fire a few weeks ago at the Novelis factory in Oswego, New York -- which supplies materials for Ford’s popular F-150 trucks -- is expected to hit output through the end of the year and lead to expenses of $1.5 billion to $2 billion before taxes and interest.
Although Ford CEO Jim Farley said progress was being made in offsetting these expenses, the firm brought down its full-year outlook for the second time this year. Before taxes and interest, income is seen at $6 billion to $6.5 billion, from $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion previously.
In a note, analysts at BofA Securities including Federico Merendi and William Healey argued that while Ford’s financial outlook was "messy" and "drew a lot of attention from the sell-side" during a post-earnings call, the "underlying business is strong" and is on a path to "$8.5 billion - $10.5 billion in earnings before interest and taxes" in its next fiscal year.
(Luke Juricic contributed reporting.)