Ford stock falls as guidance disappointment overshadows sales beat
Ford (F) shares are declining in extended-hours trading after the automaker’s outlook came in on the low end of its forecast, overshadowing its revenue beat. The results come after General Motors (GM) delivered an earnings beat and a guidance raise last week. S&P Global Ratings autos managing director Nishit Madlani joins Josh Lipton and Josh Schafer on Market Domination Overtime to break down the results and what they mean for Ford going forward. Madlani says, “From a credit ratings perspective, we currently have a stable outlook. And that hinges a lot on cost improvements that we were expecting over the next 12 to 18 months. We had lowered our margin forecast in the summer so that narrowed the cushion for any significant underperformance. So the numbers that you know came in earlier today at the lower end of their range. It doesn't inspire too much confidence. But we had already baked that in our lowered forecasts.” On electric vehicles (EVs), the analyst says he expects “a slowdown,” though he notes this weakness isn’t Ford-specific, “That's consistent with what we've been hearing from multiple players in the industry [in the] short term.” The silver lining in the EV slowdown is that “they can sell more of their more profitable vehicles,” but “it does mean that there are costs that need to be spent because they have had changes in strategy as far as certain products that had to be rolled back.” The analyst says the traditional automakers’ struggles with EVs have raised some more long-term questions about strategy. “It's going to take a while. They've already delayed some of the [capital spending] plans. I mean, Ford, specifically, has made changes. They've basically canceled the all-electric three-row SUV and want to only make a hybrid one now.” He notes that pricing will probably be the next biggest headwind for traditional automakers trying to make a profit from their EV businesses. For more on Madlani’s perspective on Ford earnings and what it signals about the broader US auto market, watch the video above. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.
