Visitors pass a Ford Escape Titanium at the Shanghai Motor Show on April 17, 2019.
Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor plans to invest $ 29 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025, the company announced 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
- Income: $ 33.2 billion versus $ 33,889 million, projected
Ford chief financial officer John Lawler said the company expects to earn $ 8 billion to $ 9 billion in pre-tax adjusted profits and generate $ 3.5 billion to $ 4.5 billion in adjusted free cash flow in 2021. This it doesn’t take into account the global shortage of semiconductor chips that said they could cut Ford’s profits by $ 1 billion to $ 2.5 billion this year.
“The situation of semiconductors is constantly changing, so it is premature to try to size what
“Availability would mean for our year-round performance,” he said in a press release. “At this time, supplier estimates could suggest a 10% to 20% loss in production projected for the first quarter.”
Lawler in October projected that auto-adjusted pre-tax revenue for the fourth quarter would fall between the $ 500 million loss or imbalance. This would be less than the 485 million profits made during the fourth quarter of 2019.
Lawler said the decline was largely due to costs related to new or redesigned vehicles the company launched later this year. This included the F-150 2021 pickup truck, as well as the Bronco Sport SUV and the all-electric Mustang Mach-E crossover.
Analysts and investors are expected to get ahead of the loss and focus on Ford’s guidelines for 2021. Despite the faster-than-expected recovery from last year’s pandemic, the industry is now facing a shortage of semiconductor chips that is causing automakers to reduce vehicle production.
Ford on Thursday confirmed plans to cut shifts next week at plants in Michigan and Missouri that produce its profitable F-150 vans due to a shortage of chips.
Wall Street is also awaiting any additional business changes from Ford CEO Jim Farley, who replaced Jim Hackett as of Oct. 1, and any updates on the company’s electric vehicle plans.