Ford first quarter revenue, profits top estimates; EV unit loses $722 million
Ford (F) reported first quarter revenue and earnings that topped Wall Street expectations on Tuesday while also breaking out results for its EV segment for the first time, where losses totaled more than $700 million in Q1.
Revenue came in at $41.5 billion for the quarter, up 20% from last year and beating expectations for $36.1 billion. Earnings per share came in at $0.63, more than the $0.41 expected by analysts. Last year, Ford reported a net loss of $3.1 billion during its first quarter due to losses related to its investment in EV maker Rivian (RIVN).
In a separate release on Tuesday, Ford announced it would be re-opening orders for its all-electric Mustang Mach-E on Wednesday with prices lowered by up to $4,000 for some models.
Ford stock was down about 1% in after-hours trading following these results.
Ford's breakdown of its business segments still shows deep losses in its Model E EV business unit, though that is expected to improve through the end of the year.
Here are Ford's first quarter results by business segment:
Ford Blue: $25.1 billion in revenue, $2.623 billion in EBIT, 10.4% EBIT margin
Ford Model e: $700 million in revenue, ($722 million) in EBIT, -102% EBIT margin
Ford Pro: $13.2 billion in revenue, $1.366 billion in EBIT, 10.3% EBIT margin
"Quarterly shipments of and revenue from EVs were limited by production interruptions of two highly popular vehicles: the Mustang Mach-E SUV, to make industrial changes that will nearly double manufacturing capacity, and the F-150 Lightning pickup, to isolate and address a battery issue before it became a problem for customers," Ford said in a statement.
As for its outlook, Ford reaffirmed a few key metrics issued in late March during its teach-in with investors and Wall Street analysts regarding the reporting structure for its three new business units.
Full-year adjusted EBIT is expected to come in at $9 billion-$11 billion with adjusted free cash flow of about $6 billion. Segment level EBIT expectations for 2023 include a full-year loss of $3 billion for its Model E unit, $7 billion in EBIT for Ford Blue, and $6 billion in EBIT for Ford Pro.
Electric vehicle production run rates of 600,000 units by the end of 2023 and 2 million by the end of 2026.
On the earnings call, Ford reiterated that first-gen EVs will approach contribution margin break-even status by the end of this year, EBIT profitability by the end of next year, and the Ford Model e segment is targeting an 8% EBIT margin by late 2026.
Last month Ford reported Q1 deliveries rose 10.1% versus a year ago in the US, powered by strong truck and SUV sales. Ford's EV sales were up 41% year over year to 10,866 units, though hybrid sales dipped 4% to 27,064. In comparison, Ford sold nearly 437,976 internal combustion cars in Q1 in the US.
To take advantage of first quarter demand, Ford said it will boost production of the Ford Transit and E-Transit vans, Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, Bronco Sport, and Maverick pickup.
Ford's Q1 earnings follow GM’s (GM) stellar quarterly report last month which showed the automaker exceeded profit and revenue expectations while raising its full-year, EBIT-adjusted earnings guidance to $11 billion-$13 billion.
This post has been updated.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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