The
Ford
display
at
the
New
York
International
Auto
Show
on
March
28,
2024.
Danielle
DeVries
|
CNBC
DETROIT
—
Ford
Motor
came
in
short
of
Wall
Street’s
second-quarter
earnings
expectations
while
beating
on
revenue,
due
to
warranty
costs
that
have
plagued
the
automaker
for
several
years
now.
The
automaker
increased
its
full-year
target
for
free
cash
flow
but
maintained
its
2024
earnings
guidance,
disappointing
some
investors
who
had
hoped
for
a
hike.
Ford’s
guidance
for
the
year
includes
adjusted
earnings
before
interest
and
taxes,
or
EBIT,
of
between
$10
billion
and
$12
billion.
Shares
of
the
automaker
were
down
about
11%
after
markets
closed.
The
stock
closed
Wednesday
at
$13.67
per
share.
Here
is
how
the
company
did,
compared
to
estimates
from
analysts
polled
by
LSEG:
-
Earnings
per
share:
47
cents
adjusted
vs.
68
cents
expected -
Automotive
revenue:
$44.81
billion
vs.
$44.02
billion
expected
The
Detroit
automaker
said
its
profitability
was
affected
by
increases
in
its
warranty
reserves
used
to
pay
for
vehicle
issues.
The
costs
are
related
to
vehicles
for
the
2021
model
year
or
older,
Ford
Chief
Financial
Officer
John
Lawler
said
during
a
media
briefing.
Ford
said
recent
initiatives
to
improve
quality
and
vehicle
launches
are
paying
off
and are
expected
to
help
bring
down
future
warranty
costs.
“We’re
making
real
progress
in
raising
quality,
lowering
costs
and
reducing
complexity
across
our
entire
enterprise,”
Lawler
said
during
a
media
briefing.
“We’re
making
real
progress
on
quality
that
will
benefit
us
down
the
road.”
Lawler
declined
to
disclose
Ford’s
total
warranty
cost
for
the
second
quarter
but
said
it
was
$800
million
more
than
the
previous
quarter.
Performance
of
several
auto
stocks
in
2024.
Net
income
for
the
second
quarter
was
$1.83
billion,
or
46
cents
per
share,
compared
to
$1.92
billion,
or
47
cents
per
share,
a
year
earlier.
Adjusted
EBIT
declined
27%
year
over
year
to
$2.76
billion,
or
47
cents
per
share,
compared
to
$3.79
billion,
or
72
cents
per
share,
during
the
second
quarter
of
2023.
Ford’s
overall
revenue
for
the
second
quarter,
including
its
finance
business,
increased
about
6%
year
over
year
to
$47.81
billion.
Ford
CEO
Jim
Farley
told
investors
Wednesday
that
his
Ford+
restructuring
plan
remains
on
track
to
make
the
automaker
more
profitable.
“We
are
absolutely
a
different
company
than
we
were
three
years
ago,”
Farley
said
during
the
company’s
earnings
call,
noting
the
“remaking
of
Ford
is
not
without
growing
pains.”
Ford’s
traditional
business
operations,
known
as
Ford
Blue,
earned
$1.17
billion
during
the
second
quarter,
while
its
Ford
Pro
commercial
business
earned
$2.56
billion.
Its
“Model
e”
electric
vehicle
unit
lost
$1.14
billion
from
April
through
June.
The Ford+
plan initially
focused
heavily
on
EVs
when
it
was
announced in
May
2021 during
the
company’s
first
investor
day
under
Farley,
who
took
over
the
helm
of
the
automaker
in October
2020.
It
has
since
shifted
to
focus
more
on
customer
choice
and
next-generation
EVs
to
drive
profits.
Farley
said
Ford’s
“more
realistic
and
sharpened”
EV
plan,
including
focusing
on
a
small
next-generation
EV
platform,
will
prove
worthwhile
for
the
company
in
the
years
ahead.
As
of
Wednesday’s
close,
Ford’s
stock
was
up
more
than
10%
this
year,
as
pricing
in
the
automotive
industry
has
remained
more
resilient
than
expected,
but
some
Wall
Street
analysts
believe
automaker
profits
may
have
peaked.
“We
don’t
see
the
second
half
being
much
different
than
the
first
half,
or
falling
off,”
Lawler
said.
“There’s
going
to
be
puts
and
takes
in
any
half
of
the
year
…
that
was
part
of
our
guidance,
and
we’re
planning
on
managing
that.”
There
was
pressure
on
Ford
to
raise
its
guidance
after
crosstown
rival
General
Motors
raised
its
yearly
guidance
Tuesday
for
the
second
time
this
year.
GM’s
second-quarter
results
also
beat
Wall
Street’s
top-
and
bottom-line
expectations,
but
the
automaker’s
stock
on
Tuesday
declined
6.4%.
