Shares of Ford Motor Co. they rose on Friday, with Wall Street overlooking a quarterly loss of nearly $ 3 billion and the lack of sales centering on automakers ’plans to invest more in electric and autonomous cars.
Ford F,
On Thursday afternoon it posted a broader quarter-on-quarter loss and lower-than-expected quarterly Wall Street sales, but unveiled a brighter first-quarter outlook and said it would nearly double its investments in electric and autonomous vehicles. .
“We were very excited” by these, Emmanuel Rosner told Deutsche Bank in his note Friday.
The company’s operating performance in the second half of 2020 and the 2021 guidelines “suggest that the company may be changing with its profitability and cash generation, benefiting from new and updated products, a high price and combination, and global cost reductions and efficiencies, ”he said.
Ford’s plan to invest in electric vehicles and self-driving vehicles rose to $ 29 billion, including $ 22 billion for vehicles by 2025. This shows that CEO Jim Farley “is really accelerating the company’s transformation. towards an electrified and connected future “.
Read: Electric vehicles will account for a larger share of retail car sales in the United States, according to Edmunds
Ford is taking “bolder and more decisive action on EV (and AV),” Joseph Spak told RBC Capital in his note. Ford “is” pulling a GM “and increasing investment. That’s absolutely necessary.”
Ford’s valuation of about $ 45 billion has been overshadowed by Tesla Inc.’s TSLA,
$ 800 billion and GM of General Motors Co.,
$ 79 billion. Of course, Tesla only manufactures electric vehicles and GM is committed to doing the same in 2035 and becoming a carbon-free company by 2040.
However, a unifying concern with Ford was the news that production of the new F-150 pickup truck, the No. 1 vehicle sold in the United States for decades in a row and a jewel in the company’s crown, was hampered by the chip shortage. The company has temporarily reduced factory shifts.
Ford targeted adjusted earnings in 2021 before interest and taxes of around $ 7.1 billion and $ 8.1 billion, which was “decent” given the shortage of chips, said Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley , in a note.
Ford shares have gained 40% in the last twelve months, compared to gains of around 17% in the S&P 500 index. SPX,