Ford has reported significant growth in the third quarter, although its financial results fell short of Wall Street estimates
Ford earnings fall short of estimates after it strikes a tentative deal with the United Auto WorkersBy DAVID HAMILTONAP Business WriterThe Associated PressSAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ford on Thursday reported significant growth in the third quarter, although its financial results fell short of Wall Street estimates.
The automaker posted net income of $1.2 billion for the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. A year earlier it lost $827 million after taking a $2.7 billion write-down of its investment in a shuttered autonomous vehicle technology startup. Revenue increased by 11% in the latest quarter, coming in at $43.8 billion.
Ford’s latest quarterly profit, adjusted for one-time items, amounted to 39 cents a share. That was below the 46 cents a share expected by industry analysts, according to FactSet.
One of its weakest areas was Ford’s electric vehicle division, where earnings before interest and taxes fell to a loss of $1.3 billion in the quarter — a significant widening from a $600 million loss in the year-earlier quarter — despite a 29% increase in revenue to $1.8 billion. The company blamed price competition in the sector, but Ford executives stressed that they remain committed to electric vehicles.
The results came out just a day after Ford reached a tentative contract agreement with the United Auto Workers union. The four-year labor deal, which still has to be approved by 57,000 union members at the company, could bring a close to the union’s series of strikes at targeted factories run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis.
The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers, where workers will remain on strike. The UAW called on all workers at Ford to return to their jobs and said that will put pressure on GM and Stellantis to bargain.
“We told Ford to pony up, and they did,” President Shawn Fain said in a video address to members Wednesday night. He added that Ford put 50% more money on the table than it did before the strike started on Sept. 15.
Shares in Ford Motor Co., which is based in Dearborn, Michigan, were down 4% in after-hours trading following the earnings report.
