The visitor passed a Ford Escape Titanium at the Shanghai Auto Show in Shanghai on April 17, 2019.
Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor plans to invest $ 29 billion in electric and self-driving vehicles by 2025, the company announced on Thursday, when it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
Here are the results.
- EPS adjusted: 34 cents against an expected loss of 7 cents
- recipe: $ 33.2 billion versus $ 33.89 billion, expected
Ford CFO John Lawler said the company expects to earn between $ 8 billion and $ 9 billion in pre-tax adjusted profits and generate between $ 3.5 billion and $ 4.5 billion in cash flow adjusted free in 2021. This does not take into account the global shortage of semiconductor chips that he said could reduce Ford’s earnings by $ 1.0 billion to $ 2.5 billion this year.
“The situation of the semiconductor is constantly changing, so it is premature to try to scale what
availability will mean for our annual performance, “he said in a press release.” At present, supplier estimates may suggest a 10% to 20% loss of our planned production for the first quarter. “
Lawler in October projected that the automaker’s adjusted fourth-quarter profit before tax would fall somewhere between a $ 500 million loss or breakeven. That would be less than a profit of $ 485 million during the fourth quarter of 2019.
Lawler said the drop would be largely due to costs related to new or redesigned vehicles that the company launched at the end of the year. This included the 2021 F-150 truck, as well as the Bronco Sport SUV and the all-electric Mustang Mach-E crossover.
Analysts and investors should look beyond the loss and focus on Ford’s 2021 orientation. Despite a faster-than-expected recovery from the pandemic last year, the industry now faces a shortage of semiconductor chips that is causing automakers cut vehicle production.
Ford confirmed plans on Thursday to cut shifts next week at plants in Michigan and Missouri that produce its profitable F-150 pickup trucks due to a lack of chips.
Wall Street is also on the lookout for any further changes in business by Ford CEO Jim Farley, who replaced Jim Hackett as of October 1, and any updates to the company’s electric vehicle plans.