Ford shares fall on expectations of higher EV losses; Morgan Stanley expects 'major changes' to EV strategy

(Updated - July 28, 2023 6:22 AM EDT)

Investing.com -- Ford Motor lifted its guidance Thursday after reporting second-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations

Still, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) shares fell nearly 2% in pre-open Friday after the company said it expects to see losses from electric vehicles (EVs) hit $4.5 billion this year, up from the prior forecast of $3B.

“The transition to EVs is happening, it just may take a little longer,” CFO John Lawler said.

“It will be a little slower than the industry expected,” he added.

The automotive company announced EPS of 72 cents on revenue of $45B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of 53 cents on revenue of $43.04 billion.

Looking ahead, the company lifted its full-year 2023 adjusted EBIT to between $11 billion to $12 billion from $9 billion to $11 billion previously.

The company also raised its expectations for full-year adjusted free cash flow to between $6.5 billion and $7 billion, with capital expenditures of between $8 billion and $9 billion.

While Ford Model e - the business segment which hosts EV operations - saw a negative forecast revision, Ford raised Ebit projections for its two other segments - Ford Blue and Ford Pro.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said the company's legacy ICE business fueled a solid beat.

"We expect major changes to Ford’s EV strategy may be necessary," he said in a note.

Evercore ISI analyst Chris McNally commented:

"Ford had a VERY high Q2 “beat & raise” bar post-GM and they certainly hurdled it on near-term numbers…the debate will remain, though, to what extent investors will question “peak vs plateau” legacy pricing as well as incorporate a more difficult EV transition."

Additional reporting by Senad Karaahmetovic

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