A passing car carrier is reflected in the grille of a 2017 Ford Motor Co. F-150 pickup truck on display at the Sutton Ford Lincoln car dealership in Matteson, Illinois.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor is expected Thursday to report a loss for the fourth quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic and increased costs to roll out new vehicles.
Here’s what Wall Street is expecting, based on average analysts’ estimates compiled by Refinitive.
- Adjusted EPS: a loss of 7 cents a share
- Automotive revenue: $33.89 billion
Ford CFO John Lawler in October projected that the automaker’s adjusted pretax earnings for the fourth quarter would fall somewhere between a $500 million loss or break even. That would be down from a $485 million profit during the fourth quarter of 2019.
Lawler said the decline would largely be due to costs related to new or redesigned vehicles the company launched toward the end of the year. That included the 2021 F-150 pickup truck as well as the Bronco Sport SUV and Mustang Mach-E all-electric crossover.
Analysts and investors are expected to look past the loss and focus on Ford’s guidance for 2021. Despite a faster-than-anticipated recovery from the pandemic last year, the industry now faces a shortage of semiconductor chips that’s causing automakers to cut vehicle production.
Ford confirmed plans Thursday to cut shifts next week at plants in Michigan and Missouri that produce its profitable F-150 pickup trucks due to the chip shortage.
Wall Street also is watching for any additional business changes by Ford CEO Jim Farley, who replaced Jim Hackett effective Oct. 1, and any updates on the company’s electric vehicle plans.