Ford Motor Co., based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures and sells automobiles on six continents. With about 175,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company also provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit.

Throughout 2024, the stock market has remained in a solid uptrend that has lifted most styles and sizes. With three trading days remaining in October, the S&P 500 was up 22.1% year to date on a capital-appreciation basis. The Nasdaq, which lagged the broad market index for most of the year, is now ahead with a 23.7% gain. And the blue-chip DJIA is up 12.5%, with its deep lag attributable mainly to struggling component stocks including Boeing, Intel, and Nike While the S&P 500's rise across 2024 has been punctuated by some selling jags, the index mainly has been in climbing mode. The S&P's trading year 2024 started with a run from the 4,740s level on January 1 to around 5,250 by the end of March. After a down April, the index climbed from the 5,020s on 5/1/24 to the 5,670s by mid-July. The index made a low in the 5,180s early in August and a higher low around 5,400 early in September. The index mainly has risen since then, hitting its all-time closing high in the 5,860s on 10/18/24. The index has remained above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) for nearly the entire year; and dips below that trendline have been remarkably short. The index first broke its 50-day SMA on 4/12/24 but was back above the intermediate-term trendline about three weeks later on 5/3/24. The next breach in the 50-day SMA occurred in the 5,520s on 7/31/24 and lasted two weeks until 8/14/24. The lower high from mid-August could not hold, and the 50-day again failed at the higher low from early September. In this case, the 50-day breach lasted less than a week, from 9/4/24 to 9/10/24. Even with some mid-October churn, the S&P 500 currently has a 140-point cushion over its 50-day SMA.

Ford Motor Co. manufactures automobiles under its Ford and Lincoln brands. In March 2022, the company announced that it will run its combustion engine business, Ford Blue, and its BEV business, Ford Model e, as separate businesses but still all under Ford Motor. The company has nearly 13% market share in the United States, about 11% share in the UK, and under 2% share in China including unconsolidated affiliates. Sales in the US made up about 66% of 2023 total company revenue. Ford has about 177,000 employees, including about 59,000 UAW employees, and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.