Ford Motor Co. made $1.76 billion last quarter, swinging into the black from a $3.1 billion net loss for the same period a year ago.
Most of the profit came from Ford Blue, the company's internal-combustion engine vehicle unit, which made $2.62 billion before taxes during the quarter. Ford Pro, the commercial vehicle unit, added $1.37 billion. But Model e, Ford's electric vehicle unit, lost $722 million before taxes.
The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker is seeing its fortunes improve, and reiterated its earlier pretax profit guidance for the full year of $9 billion to $11 billion.
Excluding one-time items, Ford made 44 cents per share. That beat Wall Street estimates of 42 cents, according to FactSet.
Revenue rose 20% to $41.74 billion, soundly beating the $39.25 billion that analysts expected.
“This quarter was much smoother,” Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told reporters Tuesday. “We've done a lot of work on improving the rate and flow of semiconductors, production stability, working through potential other issues with the supply base outside of chips.”
Lawler said the results showed in the revenue increase, and that the company would continue to work on improvements that will boost the bottom line.
Ford's profits were fueled largely by sales in the U.S., its most lucrative market. Ford sold just under 472,000 vehicles from January through March, up 9.9% from the previous year.
The company continued to get strong prices for its vehicles during the quarter, driven by loaded out trucks and big SUVs. Ford’s average sale price was $56,534, according to Edmunds.
Lawler predicted that as production gets back to normal and vehicle supplies increase, automakers will start to offer discounts. He predicted that Ford's prices would remain flat while the industry would be down about 5% for the year.
Earlier Tuesday, Ford cut prices on its Mustang Mach E electric SUV, the same day Tesla raised prices slightly on the Model Y, the Mach E's main competitor.
Ford also said it is reopening the order bank on Wednesday for the Mach E after upgrading a factory in Mexico to increase output.
Lawler said the company lowered prices because it wants to stay competitive in the crowded small electric SUV segment of the market and attract new buyers. Over 60% of Mach E customers are new to Ford, he said.
“EV customers up front aren't loyal, but once they do purchase, they're loyal to that brand," he said. "So we expect to have these customers across their whole lifetimes.”
But CEO Jim Farley said the company is going after a profitable electric vehicle business. “We are not going to price just to gain market share,” he told analysts.
Ford says its first-generation electric vehicles will be profitable on a pretax basis by the end of 2024. Farley said that by the end of the year, Ford will have reduced costs on the Mach E by $5,000 per vehicle.
The first-quarter loss last year was due mainly to a drop in valuation of Ford’s investment in electric vehicle startup Rivian, which saw its stock slide.
Ford shares closed Tuesday down 2.2%, and they dropped another 2% in extended trading after the earnings were announced.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
