Ford's Q 2 profit exceeded expectations, raised its full-year performance guidance, and rose nearly 7% after the bell
The company on Tuesday raised its 2026 profit forecast after its second-quarter profit topped Wall Street expectations even as revenue fell and was slightly below expectations. Ford shares rose nearly 7% in after-hours trading on Tuesday. Here's how the company's second-quarter results compare to average estimates compiled by LSEG: - Earnings per share: 42 cents adjusted, vs. 35 cents expected - Automotive revenue: $44.89 billion, expected to be $45.86 billion The Detroit automaker attributed its performance and raised guidance to operational improvements, resilient vehicle pricing and the share of sales of highly profitable products. Ford's revised guidance includes full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $10 billion to $11 billion, up from its previous guidance of $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion. The company also raised its adjusted free cash flow forecast to $6 billion to $7 billion, up from its previous forecast of $5 billion to $6 billion. The company said the additional free cash flow included an earlier-than-expected cash collection of $500 million of the previously announced $1.3 billion in expected tariff compensation. The profit increase is mainly due to the expected improvement of Ford Blue, its traditional fuel vehicle business, by US$500 million, reaching US$5 billion to US$5.5 billion. The company also narrowed its commercial vehicle business profit forecast to US$7 billion to US$7.5 billion from the previous low of US$6.5 billion. "We delivered another strong quarter and raised our full-year guidance, but more importantly, there is growing evidence that Ford is becoming a more profitable, more disciplined and truly differentiated company," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a press release. Ford narrowed its expected loss on its Model e electric vehicle business to about $4 billion, down from a previous forecast of $4 billion to $4.5 billion, and said its financial business unit's performance was also slightly better than expected. Revenues from each automotive business group fell short of analysts' expectations. Ford's total revenue (including finance operations) fell 4% year-on-year in the second quarter to $48.3 billion. Ford reported a net loss of $1.3 billion in the second quarter, mainly due to one-time special charges related to the previously announced reduction in its all-electric vehicle strategy. The charges totaled $4.2 billion, including $3.6 billion related to the restructuring of the BlueOval SK battery factory in its joint venture with SK On, and $500 million arising from the cancellation of an electric vehicle project. The loss was greater than the $3.6 million net loss reported in the second quarter of 2025. Despite the recent spate of recalls, Ford reiterated plans to achieve about $1 billion in material and warranty cost reductions throughout the year. F-Series truck production resumes on track Ford Chief Financial Officer Cherie House said the automaker's F-Series pickup truck production recovery will continue into the second half of the year and reiterated that it will achieve an improvement of about $1 billion from last year's reported impact. "We are well on track with our Novelis aluminum supply recovery plan and remain confident of achieving net $1 billion in EBIT improvement in 2026, which will be concentrated in the second half of the year," House said on a media conference call. House declined to say why the recovery was at the lower end of the range, but reiterated that the $1 billion improvement target remained unchanged. The automaker has had production problems with its F-Series trucks since two fires paralyzed production at aluminum supplier Novelis, which supplies materials for its large trucks and SUVs. Last month, the company resumed affected production at its New York factory. Ford said on Tuesday it expected to restore about $2.5 billion in vehicle production lost to the fires, which was at the low end of its previous maximum recovery range of $3 billion. Ahead of Ford's earnings release, Jefferies ranked Ford and The stock rating was raised to "buy" from "hold". Analyst Philippe Uchois said Ford is expected to start building momentum again and the second quarter could be a low point. "We believe the second quarter is the low point for production and that post-Novelis production will return to normal upwards," Ushua wrote. "Given the favorable market conditions in the U.S., management is likely to raise guidance in the second quarter."