Ford earnings fall short of estimates after it strikes a tentative deal with the United Auto Workers

abcnews.go.com:

Ford has reported significant growth in the third quarter, although its financial results fell short of Wall Street estimates

SAN FRANCISCO — Ford on Thursday reported significant growth in the third quarter, although its financial results fell short of Wall Street estimates.

The automaker posted net income of $1.2 billion for the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. A year earlier it lost $827 million after taking a $2.7 billion write-down of its investment in a shuttered autonomous vehicle technology startup. Revenue increased by 11% in the latest quarter, coming in at $43.8 billion.

Ford's latest quarterly profit, adjusted for one-time items, amounted to 39 cents a share. That was below the 46 cents a share expected by industry analysts, according to FactSet.

One of its weakest areas was Ford's electric vehicle division, where earnings before interest and taxes fell to a loss of $1.3 billion in the quarter — a significant widening from a $600 million loss in the year-earlier quarter — despite a 29% increase in revenue to $1.8 billion. The company blamed price competition in the sector, but Ford executives stressed that they remain committed to electric vehicles.

Ford said a slowdown in electric vehicle sales and prices has caused it to delay plans to build one of two new joint-venture EV battery factories in Kentucky that was announced two years ago. The company also is trimming Mustang Mach-e production and delaying other spending on EVs totaling $12 billion, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said.

The company already has placed on hold plans to build another battery plant near Marshall, Michigan.

With a flattening growth curve for EVs, Lawler said, “We’re going to match demand and capital needed to meet that