The company reported after yesterday's close and the stock reacted by dropping ~13%. It was down a bit more than that this morning before recovering a bit to down $1.76 (-12.87%) at $11.91.
First up, from Bloomberg, July 24:
Ford Profit Falls Short on Quality Problems, Warranty Costs
- Automaker lowers 2024 profit outlook for gas, hybrid vehicles
- Shares tumble as much as 13% after earnings come up short
Ford Motor Co. posted second-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street estimates, saying quality problems with its vehicles led to a surge in warranty costs.
The automaker Wednesday reported adjusted earnings of 47 cents a share, missing the 67 cents that analysts expected on average. Second-quarter revenue rose 6.2% to $47.8 billion.
“We still have lots of work ahead of us to raise quality and reduce costs and complexity, but the team is committed and we’re heading in the right direction,” Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in a statement.
Ford’s warranty costs rose $800 million from the first quarter, Lawler told reporters on a call. He blamed the quality problems on models built in 2021 and earlier.
“That was a one time in the quarter,” Lawler said. “We can’t read this quarter as the year is coming off track — it’s not.”
Ford has struggled to fix stubborn quality problems, which have driven up warranty costs and put the company at a significant disadvantage to rivals, Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley has said.
Last year, Ford spent $4.8 billion fixing customers’ cars. Early this year, the automaker held some 60,000 redesigned F-150 pickup trucks in lots around Detroit for extra quality checks. Farley said that helped the company avoid 12 recalls and said that would be the process going forward for all new models....
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Meanwhile MarketWatch points out that Ford still has not figured out how to turn a profit on electric vehicles, July 24:
Ford saw a $1.1 billion loss in its EV business, dragging Q2 profit well below Wall Street forecast
Ford’s stock drops more than 11% on well-off-the-mark EPS, another big loss for EV business; CEO Farley flicks interest in EV partnership
Shares of Ford Motor Co. fell 11.6% in the extended session Wednesday after the car maker reported quarterly profits well below Wall Street’s expectations and notched another billion-dollar loss on EVs.
The results also raised concerns about Ford’s F segment dedicated to traditionally powered vehicles. Investors were hoping for a guidance increase for Ford Blue, as the business unit is called. Instead, Ford cut its guidance for Blue.
“The remaking of Ford is not without its growing pains,” Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said on a call with investors after the results. “We look forward to proving our EV strategy out. That has become more realistic and sharpened by the tough environment.”
Ford is “confident” it can reduce losses and sustain a profitable business in the future, he added. The car maker plans to focus on “very differentiated” EVs priced under $40,000 and $30,000, and on two segments, work and adventure, Farley said.
Larger EVs will be part of the picture, but success there will require more breakthroughs on costs, the CEO said, adding that Ford’s EV journey overall has been “humbling.”
The executive also said Ford is open to partnerships in EVs. “I would just emphasize that the ambition at Ford for partnering on EVs is record level high,” Farley said. “We’re not going to make any announcements in the earnings call, but this is absolutely a flip-the-script moment for our company.”....
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