Ford shares fall on expectations of higher EV losses; Morgan Stanley expects 'major changes' to EV strategy
Investing.com — Ford Motor lifted its guidance Thursday after reporting second-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations
Still, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) shares fell nearly 2% in pre-open Friday after the company said it expects to see losses from electric vehicles (EVs) hit $4.5 billion this year, up from the prior forecast of $3B.
“The transition to EVs is happening, it just may take a little longer,” CFO John Lawler said.
“It will be a little slower than the industry expected,” he added.
The automotive company announced EPS of 72 cents on revenue of $45B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of 53 cents on revenue of $43.04B.
Looking ahead, the company lifted its full-year 2023 adjusted EBIT to between $11B and $12B from $9B to $11B previously.
The company also raised its expectations for full-year adjusted free cash flow to between $6.5B and $7B, with capital expenditures of between $8B and $9B.
While Ford Model e — the business segment which hosts EV operations — saw a negative forecast revision, Ford raised Ebit projections for its two other segments — Ford Blue and Ford Pro.
Morgan Stanley analysts said the company's legacy ICE business fueled a solid beat.
«We expect major changes to Ford’s EV strategy may be necessary,» they said in a note.
Evercore ISI analysts commented:
«Ford had a VERY high Q2 “beat & raise” bar post-GM and they certainly hurdled it on near-term numbers…the debate will remain, though, to what extent investors will question “peak vs plateau” legacy pricing as well as incorporate a more difficult EV transition.»
(Additional reporting by Senad Karaahmetovic)
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