Ford posts 5.3% profit decline in second quarter from warranty costs
Published in Automotive News
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it made $1.8 billion in net income in the second quarter of 2024, a 5.3% decline year-over-year from increased warranty costs.
The profit that represented 46 cent earnings per diluted share came on $47.8 billion in revenue, which was up 6.2%. Those are mixed results compared to Wall Street expectations. Analysts, according to Yahoo Finance, on average were projecting the Dearborn automaker to record $44.02 billion in revenue, which it beat, and 68 cents for earnings per share, which it missed.
Quality has been a focus for Ford after years of product launches with recalls, buggy software and other issues. The automaker introduced a new ramp-up scheme last year on the Ford Super Duty trucks and has extended that process to launches this year, including the refreshed F-150 pickups. Executives have said they are seeing positive results, even if it has resulted in production increasing at a slower pace. Ford last month jumped 14 spots to No. 9 in the analytics company J.D. Power's 2024 U.S. Initial Quality Study.
“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 a statement. “Transparency and accountability from having separate teams focused on the needs of different customers are leading to better decisions and greater value for everyone.”
The Blue Oval's shares in post-market trading were falling 12% to $11.97 per share.
For the April-through-June quarter, Ford posted adjusted operating earnings of $2.8 billion, down 26% year-over-year. Net income margin was 3.8%, down from 4.3%.
Operating income of Ford Blue, the company's internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicle business, declined 49% to $1.171 million with a 4.4% operating margin. The company decreased its annual outlook for the division to $6 billion from $6.5 billion.
Ford's U.S. sales rose less than 1% in the second quarter, as cyberattacks on digital management software provider CDK Global Inc. at the tail end of June affected operations at thousands of dealerships across multiple automakers for two weeks.
It was a different story at Ford Pro, the Dearborn automaker's commercial vehicle business. It posted more than $2.564 billion in operating income, up 7.2% from last year, and a 15.1% operating margin. Outlooks for full-year operating income was up to $9 billion to $10 billion on further growth and favorable product mix.
The loss posted by Ford Model e, the business unit dedicated to electric vehicles, was $1.143 billion compared to $1.080 billion a year ago. Ford is forecasting a $5 billion to $5.5 billion loss on Model e in 2024 mostly related to capital expenditures for future EV production. The company last week, however, did say Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario no longer will be producing a three-row all-electric SUV and instead will expand production of Super Duty pickups. The move to make the trucks outside the United States came after executives last quarter said orders were oversubscribed 2-to-1; another site will assemble the SUV.
Ford maintained its guidance for full-year adjusted operating income of $10 billion to $12 billion. The company increased adjusted free cash flow upward by $1 billion: $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion. Ford still anticipates capital expenditures for the year of $8 billion to $9 billion.
It still anticipates earnings before taxes of about $1.5 billion for Ford Credit.
Beating Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, crosstown rival General Motors Co. in the first quarter made $2.9 billion in net income on revenue of $47.9 billion, prompting it to increase its annual guidance for the second consecutive quarter. The Detroit automaker also announced a series of EV program delays, including postponing the launch of a Buick EV, pushing back launch of expanded production of the Silverado EV at its assembly plant in Orion Township and indefinitely pausing production of the driver wheel-free fully autonomous Cruise Origin robotaxi. Stellantis NV will report earnings for the first half of 2024 on Thursday.
Tesla Inc.'s shares closed down 12% on Wednesday at $215.99 after the EV maker reported on Tuesday that its profits fell 40% in the second quarter.
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