F - Ford Motor Company
| Previous close | 8.25 |
| Open | 8.27 |
| Bid | 8.09 x 38500 |
| Ask | 8.10 x 301500 |
| Day's range | 8.08 - 8.27 |
| 52-week range | 8.02 - 10.56 |
| Volume | 46,359,668 |
| Avg. volume | 48,689,011 |
| Market cap | 32.116B |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 1.02 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 810.00 |
| EPS (TTM) | 0.01 |
| Earnings date | 27 Apr 2020 |
| Forward dividend & yield | 0.60 (7.41%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 28 Jan 2020 |
| 1y target est | 9.33 |
- Oilprice.com
Is This Technology The Secret Sauce For EVs?
Electric vehicles remain expensive, but new technologies such as 3D printing could significantly lower the costs of several of its components
- Sky News
Harrison Ford reveals 'Indiana Jones 5' will begin filming in the summer
Harrison Ford has revealed he will soon pick up his Indiana Jones hat and whip for a fifth installment in the action-adventure franchise. During an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres's chat show, the 77-year-old actor said filming is set to start in the summer. It will be Ford's fifth time playing the famed archaeologist and adventurer following Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), Temple Of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008).
- Business Wire
Ford Executive Jim Farley to Speak at Wolfe Research Global Auto, Auto Tech, and Mobility Conference 2020
Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company president, new businesses, technology and strategy, and recently elected chief operating officer of Ford, will speak at the Wolfe Research Global Auto, Auto Tech, and Mobility Conference in New York on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
- Yahoo Finance
A reminder that Tesla follows its own rules: Morning Brief
Top news and what to watch in the markets on Friday, February 14, 2020.
- Reuters - UK Focus
COLUMN-BORDOFF: Big Oil taking up mantle of climate change
BP’s chief Lord John Browne famously called on the oil and gas industry to address climate change and pivoted the firm toward renewables — an effort ahead of its time. Now Big Oil is claiming to take up the climate mantle under rising pressure from investors and activists. If backed by real action, they mean these firms’ own economic interests will require they move away from oil and gas and push for stronger climate policy.
- Yahoo Finance
Tesla investors make a surprising move as its stock closed in on $1,000
Tesla investors unload.
- Bloomberg
Mortality Estimate at 1%; Canadian Economy Toll: Virus Update
(Bloomberg) -- The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak reached 910, higher than during SARS, and one estimate put the mortality rate from the disease at 1%. Britain reported four more cases, warned of an imminent threat to public health and tightened quarantine rules. Globally, 40,626 have been infected so far.Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Chaoyang district in Beijing Monday, according to state-run media Xinhua, which published photos of Xi wearing a mask and having his temperature taken. Canada’s finance minister said the outbreak will have an impact on the country’s economy. Key DevelopmentsChina death toll at 908; confirmed cases at 40,171Coronavirus may soon peak in Wuhan with 500,000 people infectedNissan to suspend output in Kyushu auto plant, Nikkei reportsWhen Coronavirus Takes Over Ship It’s Too Late to Batten HatchesCoronavirus Anxiety Decimates the Biggest Airshow in AsiaBloomberg is tracking the outbreak on the terminal and onlineCanada Predicts Significant Impact From Virus (12:14 p.m. NY)Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau warned the spread of the coronavirus is likely to have a “real” impact on Canada’s economy.At a breakfast speech in Calgary, Morneau said the deadly viral outbreak that began in China is expected to have a significant effect on global growth that will spill into Canada as it disrupts tourism and supply chains, and lowers commodity prices. He said oil prices have fallen 15% as a result of reduced demand, for example.Read the full story here. Ford Reopens China Plants (11:30 a.m. NY)Ford Motor Co. has resumed production at its Chinese plants, a spokesman said.The U.S. automaker is working with its supplier partners, some of which are located in Hubei province, to assess and plan for parts supply, according to Anderson Chan, a spokesman.Ford was among the major automakers that halted production at China plants late last month as the government extended the traditional Lunar New Year holiday by a week.Tesla Inc. also reopened its plant near Shanghai on Monday.Carnival Cruise Finally Finds a Port (11:30 a.m. NY)Carnival Corp.’s Holland America Line appears to have finally found a port for its Westerdam cruise ship to disembark after reports of coronavirus on board prompted various jurisdictions to turn it away. Holland America said the reports were unfounded, but the ship has been denied debarking in Manila, Guam, and effectively from various ports in Japan.The two-week cruise that left from Hong Kong was able to call in only one port -- Kaohsiung, Taiwan -- and authorities there cut off access part of the way through its visit. The cruise will end in Laem Chabang, Thailand, on Thursday, and guests will receive a full refund and a future cruise credit, Holland America said Monday.NTT Docomo Pulls Out of Mobile Conference (10:55 a.m.)Japanese carrier NTT Docomo Inc. became the latest company to pull out of the mobile industry’s most important annual gathering because of the coronavirus. Ericsson AB, Amazon.com Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Sony Corp. have already said they won’t attend MWC Barcelona, while others have reduced their presence. The biggest participants spend millions of dollars to exhibit -- money they stand to lose if they scrap their plans.New Estimate Puts Virus Death Rate at 1% (10:37 a.m. NY)The mortality rate from the coronavirus is an estimated 1%, researchers at the Imperial College London said in a new report that attempts to account for mild cases as well as more severe ones at the center of the outbreak in China.Researchers have been trying to estimate how severe the virus is, and to calculate how fast it spreads as well as how many people get severe illnesses or die. In China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak began, the fatality rate may be 18% for patients with severe symptoms, the researchers calculated.“The impact of the unfolding epidemic may be comparable to the major influenza pandemics of the twentieth century,” Neil Ferguson, an infectious disease researcher at Imperial College London, said in a statement.The researchers said the 1% mortality rate was an estimate of what will happen once all cases are counted, and after previously undiagnosed ones drive the rate down.Any estimates ”should be viewed cautiously” given the numerous uncertainties involved, the researchers warned in in their report. Mortality rates tend to shift in the middle of an outbreak as new and milder cases are found.The U.K. researchers estimated that the typical time between onset of symptoms and death has been about 22 days, meaning that there may be a multiweek time lag between reporting of cases and when deaths from those cases become apparent.Overall, the Imperial College London researchers estimated that 1.3% of Wuhan residents were infected with the virus as of Jan. 31, but only 1 in 19 of them were being tested for the virus – suggesting that the actual number of cases could be far higher than the official numbers indicate.Toymaker: Closing May Hurt Holiday Sales (10:15 a.m. NY)The CEO of one the world’s largest toymakers said many of its largest Chinese suppliers remain shuttered because of the coronavirus outbreak, with some pushing reopening dates back to the end of next month.“It’s bad,” said Isaac Larian, who also founded closely held MGA Entertainment Inc. “People don’t realize. This won’t just affect the toy business; it’s going to have a major economic effect worldwide.”While the idled factories haven’t had a major impact on MGA so far, prolonged closings could delay orders for the holiday-shopping season, according to Larian. China is by far the biggest maker of toys, with the industry’s hub in Shenzhen, and February and March is when factories do the bulk of production for Christmas goods that hit shelves beginning in late October.U.K. Issues Tighter Quarantine Rules (9:55 a.m. NY)Britain imposed new regulations allowing health authorities to keep individuals in quarantine if they’re considered to be at risk of infecting others. The move came as the U.K. government called the novel coronavirus a “serious and imminent” threat to public health.The rules apply to anyone seeking to leave isolation before a 14-day quarantine is complete and will be in place for future cases, the government said Monday. Four more patients in England tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the U.K. to eight. The country has also flown back Britons from the virus epicenter of Wuhan, China, and they’re now being held in quarantine.British Airways Extends China Flight Cancellations (6:55 a.m. NY)British Airways extended a halt to flights to mainland China until March 31. All flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai are now canceled, while trips to Hong Kong remain unaffected. The company made the decision in line with the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s continued advice against all but essential travel to China, according to a spokeswoman.Foxconn Delays Return of Workers to Main IPhone Plants (6:09 a.m. NY)Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. has told some employees at its main iPhone-making unit that it’s postponing the resumption of production. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn, sent a message via its internal app on Sunday that it wouldn’t be able to decide on a back-to-work date “until further notice” for its iDPBG business unit, according to a version reviewed by Bloomberg News. That division makes gadgets for Apple at a factory in the so-called iPhone city of Zhengzhou and two other plants in Shenzhen.Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover Warn of Supply-Chain Disruptions: (6:32 p.m. HK)Jaguar Land Rover updated a presentation to investors late Sunday, saying its supply chains outside China could be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The luxury-car maker said on Friday that it expects the virus to affect its fiscal fourth quarter but that it’s too early to quantify.Nissan Motor Co. is suspending work at a Japanese assembly plant for two days in the coming week because of disruption to the supply of automobile parts due to the outbreak.GM to Restart Production in China From Feb. 15 (6:09 p.m. HK)General Motors Co. will restart production in China from Feb. 15, according to a company representative. Plans to restart production in plants with local partners would be based on preparedness of supply chain and product inventory, Reuters reported earlier.U.K. Confirms Four More Cases (5:49 p.m. HK)Four further patients in England have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the U.K. to eight. The new cases are all known contacts of a previously confirmed British case, and the virus was passed on in France.Hong Kong’s Richest Tycoon Donates $13 Million (5:25 p.m. HK)The Li Ka Shing Foundation donated HK$100 million ($13 million) to help Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak. The money will be distributed via the Red Cross Society of China,Li Ka-shing, 91, has a net worth of about $28.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Taiwan to Temporarily Ban Entry of HK, Macau Residents (5:24 p.m.)Residents from Hong Kong and Macau are barred from entering Taiwan starting from Feb. 11 as the island tries to contain the coronavirus. Those approved for entry will be quarantined for 14 days on arrival.Taipei-Hong Kong is one of the busiest international flight routes.WHO Watching 10 Chinese Provinces as Possible Hot Spots (5 p.m. HK)The World Health Organization is closely watching other Chinese regions for signs that new infection hot spots are emerging as the outbreak spreads beyond the epicenter of Hubei.The 10 provinces, including Zhejiang, Guangdong and Henan, have seen numbers of cases slowly rise, WHO’s China representative Gauden Galea said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.HK Loses Contact With Two People in Quarantine (4:51 p.m. HK)The government lost contact with two people who are in mandatory quarantine and the police have issued wanted notices, Radio Television Hong Kong reported, citing Sophia Chan, the city’s secretary for food and health. A total of 1,193 are now under quarantine and 90% of them are Hong Kong residents, Chan said.The Asian financial hub started a mandatory two-week quarantine for mainland arrivals on Saturday as it tries to contain the novel coronavirus.Global Growth Could Stall, Capital Economics Says (4:04 p.m. HK)The outbreak will cost the global economy more than $280 billion in the first three months of the year, putting an end to a 43-quarter global growth streak, according to Capital Economics Ltd. Based on those forecasts “global GDP will not grow in quarter-on-quarter terms for the first time since 2009,” the firm said.U.K. Calls Coronavirus a Serious, Imminent Threat (3:34 p.m. HK)The U.K. government is labeling the novel coronavirus a “serious and imminent threat to public health.”Britain is enacting regulations to stem further transmission, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. The declaration of a serious and imminent threat comes alongside measures the government hopes will be an effective means of delaying or preventing further transmission.Singapore Braces as Cases Emerge in Financial Center (3:32 p.m. HK)Singapore’s coronavirus outbreak has spread to its financial center, with some staff at major companies being told to work from home for at least the next few days and temperature screening checkpoints set up at the front doors of several towers.A worker at an unnamed firm in Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1 has been confirmed as being infected with the virus over the weekend, according to a circular to tenants by the building’s manager. Another case at nearby Clifford Centre, in the heart of the central business district, is an employee of United Industrial Corp., according to an advisory to tenants in the building where UIC is located.Japan Cruise Ship Finds More Cases (3:25 p.m. HK)The operator of the cruise ship quarantined off Japan confirmed more cases of coronavirus, nearly doubling to more than 130 the number of people on the vessel who have contracted the disease.The increasing number of patients on Carnival Corp.’s Diamond Princess has raised worries about a possible spread among the people still aboard. Risks have been mounting that the virus could spread in the confined spaces of the ship, where many on board have increased vulnerability due to their advanced ages.Airbnb Freezes Beijing Check-Ins Till March (2:19 p.m. HK)Airbnb Inc. is suspending check-ins at all of its Beijing listings until March to comply with local regulations intended to curb the coronavirus outbreak. The San Francisco-based company said in a statement that it will offer refunds to all those affected or that cancel their bookings.China Seeks to Minimize Impact on Foreign Investment (12:03 p.m. HK)China’s Ministry of Commerce is seeking to minimize the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on foreign investment. The ministry will push forward foreign projects to ensure investment is implemented as planned, according to a statement. The ministry will also help foreign enterprises resume production and operations; foreign producers of masks and other protective wear are urged to resume output quickly.Fallout May Be Just Beginning for Tech Firms (11:28 a.m. HK)As Chinese-based manufacturers begin to restart factories Monday, no one knows for sure when they’ll be back at full speed -- or what sort of chaos may ensue.Tech producers led by Foxconn, which makes the majority of the world’s iPhones a few hundred miles from the coronavirus outbreak’s epicenter, had begun preparing investors for the potential bedlam when hundreds of thousands make their way back to factories. Apple Inc.’s most important partner warned investors of the daunting task of securing enough workers despite widespread transport blockades, quarantining thousands, and the “nightmare” scenario of an on-campus epidemic that could shut down production altogether.Read the full story here.Experts Get Creative in Measuring Economic Blow (9:29 a.m. HK)Economists are grappling with ways to gauge the real-time impact of the coronavirus on the world economy, even as the outbreak continues to confound forecasters. Store closures, flight-tracking websites, factory shutdowns and the latest numbers on infections and fatalities are just some of the high-frequency data points economists are scouring for clues on the hit to growth.“To track the impact of the virus on the global economy, we have had to look at indicators I have never looked at before in my 25 years of doing macroeconomic forecasting,” said Torsten Slok, chief economist for Deutsche Bank AG.WHO Chief Concerned Over Virus Spread (6:35 a.m. HK)WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet that there have been concerning instances of coronavirus being spread from people with no travel history to China, saying “we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the virus.“The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries,” he said in the tweet.He called on countries to step up efforts to prepare for the coronavirus’s possible arrival. Donors have contributed toward the WHO’s efforts and those directed at vulnerable countries, he said, but the organization hasn’t reached its goal of $675 million to fight the outbreak.\--With assistance from Miao Han, Tara Patel, Philip J. Heijmans, Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Bradley Davis, Steve Geimann, Emi Nobuhiro, Yoshiaki Nohara, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Faris Mokhtar, Krystal Chia, Debby Wu, Gao Yuan, Fion Li, Laura Benitez, Cindy Wang, Chunying Zhang, Charlotte Ryan, Matt Townsend, Katsuyori Suzuki, Jonathan Levin and Keith Naughton.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Jason Gale in Melbourne at j.gale@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rachel Chang at wchang98@bloomberg.net, ;Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, ;Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net, Kenneth Wong, Mark SchoifetFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Ford Board Leaves Embattled CEO With Little Room for Error
(Bloomberg) -- A little executive bloodletting can sometimes ease the pressure on an embattled chief executive officer. But Jim Hackett is unlikely to see any letup from Ford Motor Co.’s board following the surprise early retirement of one his two top lieutenants.Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s 53-year-old automotive president, will leave on March 1 after almost two decades with the company. As a rising star under celebrated former CEO Alan Mulally, he was put on the fast track to be a potential heir to the top job.With Hinrichs out of the picture, Ford is elevating Jim Farley, the company’s only other president, to become the first chief operating officer since the automaker planned for Mulally’s succession seven years ago. The announcement that the board will revive the role of COO came days after Hackett reported dismal earnings results, dogged by the disastrous rollout of the redesigned Explorer SUV, and forecast more disappointing numbers for the upcoming year.“This signals to everyone that Farley is Hackett’s successor, unless they plan to go outside the company,” said David Whiston, an analyst with Morningstar in Chicago. “Perhaps it could be nine months from now, or it could be 18 months from now, but they will make an announcement that Hackett is retiring and Farley takes over as CEO.”Staying PutHackett, who was asked by an analyst 18 months ago whether he expected to last in the job, told reporters Friday he’s not going anywhere.“As far as my tenure, this is the kind of thing I love to do and I’m having a really fulfilling assignment here,” said the former CEO of office-furniture maker Steelcase Inc. “I need to be here.”Since being pressed into duty almost three years ago by Executive Chairman Bill Ford to stabilize his family’s foundering automaker, Hackett, 64, has promised to accelerate the 116-year-old company’s “clock speed.” But Wall Street analysts have long groused that Hackett’s global restructuring has moved at a plodding pace.“There is a long way to go,” Michael Ward, a Benchmark Co. analyst who rates Ford a hold, wrote in a report Monday, cutting his projection for earnings this year and warning that cash needs for restructuring are likely to remain a headwind into 2021. Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas wrote separately that he made the “wrong call” upgrading Ford to the equivalent of a buy in August and making it his top pick among U.S. auto stocks.Ford shares slipped as much as 0.5% to $8.07 as of 10:30 a.m. in New York. The stock has fallen 25% under Hackett and by more than half since the departure of Mulally, the only CEO of a Detroit automaker who kept his company out of bankruptcy in 2009.Hackett himself acknowledged Ford has run out of margin for error when he told analysts during last week’s earnings call: “It does boil down to we can’t miss a beat now in the product launches.”On Friday, he addressed the costly mistakes made with the Explorer sport utility vehicle again, telling reporters there’s “no room for that type of miss” anymore.In an interview Friday, Farley, 57, didn’t want to talk executive succession. But he said he’s eager to pick up the pace as Ford rolls out a redesigned F-150 pickup -- its most profitable model -- and pours billions into the electric and self-driving cars upending the industry.“We cannot wait years and years,” Farley said by phone. “In the context of our industry and how it’s changing, we have to accelerate.”Tough TalkFarley joined Ford from Toyota Motor Corp. in 2007, just before the bottom fell out of the U.S. auto market. He helped navigate the company through the Great Recession without resorting to the government bailouts and bankruptcies that befell General Motors and Chrysler.A marketing specialist and cousin of the late actor and comedian Chris Farley, Jim Farley broadened his skills over the years with stints running Ford’s European operations and launching a comeback at Lincoln. Most recently, he’s been head of strategy and technology, cutting deals with Volkswagen AG and Rivian Automotive Inc. on electric and autonomous vehicles.Along the way, Farley earned a reputation as a tough taskmaster, never afraid to speak his mind and throw a few elbows.“F--- GM, I hate them and their company,” he was quoted as saying in the 2011 book “Once Upon a Car” by then-New York Times Detroit Bureau Chief Bill Vlasic. “I’m going to beat Chevrolet on the head with a bat.”Blunt ContrastFarley’s tone may have softened since then, but his drive remains and Ford insiders are bracing for an extremely demanding new boss.“Farley is very blunt, and I think Wall Street is actually going to like that because it’s such a contrast from Jim Hackett being very indirect,” said Whiston, who has the equivalent of a buy rating on Ford. “Farley has worked on his temperament a bit and tends to give more diplomatic answers now. The f-bombs are probably a thing of the past.”As for when Hackett might become a thing of the past, Farley isn’t speculating.“That’s for the board to decide,” Farley said. “My job is to get the most out of this team, just like we did many years ago, and bend that curve of financial performance and make the right bets strategically.”(Updates with analyst reports in the eighth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Melinda Grenier.To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Southfield, Michigan at knaughton3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Kevin MillerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Tesla
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Tesla
- Reuters
Carmakers look to resume China output after virus forced closures
- BMW's China venture with Brilliance said on Feb. 5 the Chinese firm planned to restart production on Feb. 17. - Daimler said on Feb. 3 it plans to resume passenger car production in Beijing on Feb. 10. - General Motors said on Feb. 10 it plans to restart production in China on Feb. 15.
- Reuters
Factbox: Carmakers look to resume China output after virus forced closures
- BMW's China venture with Brilliance said on Feb. 5 the Chinese firm planned to restart production on Feb. 17. - Daimler said on Feb. 3 it plans to resume passenger car production in Beijing on Feb. 10. - General Motors said on Feb. 10 it plans to restart production in China on Feb. 15.
- Bloomberg
Ford Promotes One President, Loses the Other
(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. promoted one of the two presidents seen as leading candidates to become the next chief executive officer while the other leaves the automaker in the midst of a years-long slump.Jim Farley, 57, will become chief operating officer as Joe Hinrichs, 53, retires after 19 years with the company. Ford announced the moves days after projecting 2020 profit that was well below Wall Street’s expectations, sending its shares plunging the most in nine years.The surprise shake-up adds to the alarm over how poorly Ford has been performing. Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett, who took over in 2017, pointed to the new Explorer sport utility vehicle last year as the model that would prove his team was fixing things. But Ford ended up botching the launch, further testing the patience of investors.“Clearly, if you look at last year’s scoreboard, we under-performed and we know where it happened,” Hackett said on a call with reporters. “There’s no room for that type of miss in terms of the launch of a product. So we’ve taken steps to make sure that all the new product that we’re having come out, that we really have our arms around that.”Ford shares fell as much as 2.8% to $8.02 in intraday trading. The stock is down about 53% since July 2014, when former CEO Alan Mulally retired and made way for Hackett’s predecessor, Mark Fields.Hackett, 64, has been placing big bets on electric vehicles and autonomous-driving technology, all while also trying to spruce up an aging lineup and engineer an $11 billion restructuring. But extreme moves including an early 2018 decision to abandon sedans in the U.S. haven’t done enough to convince analysts and credit-ratings companies that its prospects are improving fast enough.“Ford has struggled with execution -- potentially explaining this move,” Dan Levy, an analyst for Credit Suisse who cut the stock to the equivalent of a hold rating earlier Friday, said in a note to clients. “Farley’s promotion to COO positions him as a successor for CEO role.”Explorer IssuesAs president of automotive operations, Hinrichs oversaw the launch of the Explorer that hampered earnings in the second half of last year. The flubbed introduction blemished his impressive resume. He was lauded years ago for pulling off the high-wire act of transitioning the F-150 pickup, Ford’s most profitable product, to aluminum bodies. Two years ago, he limited the damage after a supplier plant blew up and temporarily disrupted truck output.Hackett said the departure of Hinrichs is not tied to the issues Ford had rolling out one of its most important SUVs.“The launch of the Explorer is a company issue that involved a lot of aspects, including Joe’s job, and others -- we share that together,” Hackett said. “We are all accountable for that performance. Joe and I would both stand up and say that.”Hackett added that Ford has “a very deep bench” that will guide the next key launches of new models, including the redesigned F-150 pickup and Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s 53-year-old chief product development and purchasing officer, will take on an expanded role as part of the latest executive shakeup. He’ll add responsibility for enterprise product line management and connectivity, which Hackett described as bringing together vehicle architectures and software stacks used for connected services.Familiar RefrainHackett has had two presidents reporting to him since May 1, with Hinrichs focusing on auto operations and Farley taking charge of new businesses, technology and strategy.The moves announced Friday suggest Ford management believes they may have “fallen further behind” since that leadership structure was put in place, Joe Spak, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note to clients.In breaking the news of its shakeup, Ford said in a statement that it’s moving with urgency and transforming into a faster-growing, higher-margin business.“That message sounds great,” Spak wrote, “but also sounds very similar to the message from day one of Jim Hackett’s CEO tenure back in 2017.”(Updates with Hinrichs background in eighth paragraph, analyst’s comments in last paragraphs)\--With assistance from David Welch.To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Southfield, Michigan at knaughton3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, David WelchFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance
Why Tesla and Elon Musk are still better investments than Ford
Ford has shaken up its top brass. Tesla is still the better investment, one strategist explains to Yahoo Finance.
- Reuters
Ford shakes up top management, promises faster turnaround
Ford Motor Co on Friday shook up its top management, naming strategy chief Jim Farley as chief operating officer of the No. 2 U.S. automaker and promising skeptical investors the company will kick a slow-moving turnaround into a higher gear. Ford's move positions Farley, 57, as potential heir to Chief Executive Jim Hackett, who took over in May 2017. News of Farley's promotion and the retirement of automotive president Joe Hinrichs, another potential CEO candidate, effective on March 1, came three days after Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford saw its shares slide following a disappointing forecast.
- Zacks
What's Ahead for Detroit 3 Carmakers After a Weak 2019?
In 2019, revenues, earnings and vehicle sales for each of the Detroit 3 carmakers decline.
- Zacks
Tesla to $7,000: Buy the Launch Abort at $500
You just witnessed an epic short-squeeze to $950 as a Falcon Heavy blasted through investors with old metrics.
- Zacks
Auto Stock Roundup: GM Beats, F Misses, TSLA & CATL Ink Deal and More
While U.S. auto giants General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) post Q4 earnings beat and miss, respectively, Tesla (TSLA) signs a two-year deal with China's battery supplier CATL.
- Zacks
Stock Market News for Feb 6, 2020
Wall Street maintained its northbound momentum for the third straight days driven by hopes that new vaccines will soon come to the market to contain the deadly coronavirus-led infections.
- Zacks
New Strong Sell Stocks for February 6th
Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank 5 (Strong Sell) List today
- Zacks
Has the Correction in Tesla ETFs Begun?
Tesla's shares slumped on coronavirus fears. But this could be an entry point to Tesla-rich ETFs.
- Bloomberg
Toyota in Growth Mode Defies Slowdown in Global Vehicle Demand
(Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. isn’t letting a global slowdown get in the way of its plans to grow, reporting a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and raising its full-year forecast.Even as a production shutdown in China, the world’s largest car market, has cast a pall over global automakers already struggling to cope with a downshift in demand and rising costs on next-generation technology, Toyota is betting it can sell more cars.“The global market in 2020 will be probably lower than what was the market in 2019, but you saw our forecast in terms of sales volume for 2020 and we plan to sell more cars than in 2019 -- even if the market is declining,” Didier Leroy, a Toyota executive vice president, said at a press conference in Tokyo.Toyota is targeting operating profit of 2.5 trillion yen ($22.7 billion) for the full fiscal year through March, up from a previous projection for 2.4 trillion yen and broadly in line with analysts’ expectations.That contrasts with U.S. rivals General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., both of which lost money in the last quarter of 2019. GM expects earnings to be flat this calendar year while Ford forecast a larger-than-expected drop in profits.Shares of Toyota rose 2.6% in Tokyo, the biggest jump since July. The stock is just shy of its four-year high.Supplier SqueezeToyota’s bullish outlook reflects less severe yen appreciation than it had feared, higher profit margins in North America and Europe, and relentless cost cutting -- much of which has been borne by the company’s tight network of suppliers.Japanese auto parts manufacturer Denso Corp. last month slashed its profit outlook, and both it and fellow Toyota group components maker Aisin Seiki Co. missed analysts’ forecasts for quarterly earnings. Toyota owns 35% of Denso and 39% of Aisin.“It’s a very severe situation for our suppliers,” Masayoshi Shirayanagi, Toyota’s operating officer in charge of purchasing, told reporters in Tokyo. He said the automaker is working to strengthen those ties by taking suggestions for loosening tight specifications and easing exacting standards where possible.“Last year, we met with the heads of companies in our supplier associations in a group discussion and they expressed some unhappiness with Toyota,” Shirayanagi said.Operating income in the fiscal third quarter, which ended in December, was 654 billion yen, topping the average analyst forecast of 643.8 billion yen. Revenue came to 7.54 trillion yen, compared with the consensus estimate for 7.42 trillion yen.Big in EuropeDespite softening sales volumes in Japan, North America and China, Toyota benefited from steady growth in Europe, where hybrid gas-electric vehicles accounted for 52% of its sales last year. Profit margin in the region climbed in the latest quarter to 4.6% from 3.2% a year ago.“Hybrid vehicles are chosen by more than half of our customers and this has boosted our overall sales in Europe,” Leroy said.That has given a boost to the company’s mainstream Toyota brand -- sales of which last year exceeded 1 million vehicles for the first time since 2008 -- and helped its Lexus luxury brand post a double-digit sales growth.RAV4 CountryIn North America, operating profit rose to 105.9 billion yen, nearly four times the 26.4 billion in the year-earlier period. That came despite a 2% slide in sales volume to 668,000.Company officials attributed that profit surge to a number of factors, including a shift in production toward more light trucks such as sport utility vehicles and pickups. The company has been reworking its manufacturing footprint in the U.S. to crank out more SUVs such as its best-selling RAV4 and popular mid-size Highlander and cope with slow sales of sedans like its Camry model.“The U.S. Highlander is fresh while RAV4 is very strong,” said Tatsuo Yoshida, senior auto analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Full-year guidance was revised up, but fourth-quarter assumptions are conservative and it is likely Toyota eventually beats its guidance.”Virus ImpactToyota expects its global sales volume for the fiscal year to hit 8.95 million vehicles, unchanged from an earlier projection. Including group companies, it sold 10.7 million vehicles last calendar year, second only to Volkswagen AG’s 10.9 million. GM sold 8.4 million vehicles last year and Ford shipped about 5.4 million.One wild card is the impact from the production shutdown in China due to the spread of a deadly virus. Toyota said late last month it would extend a planned work stoppage at its Chinese factories until at least Feb. 9.Japan’s largest automaker said its profit forecast doesn’t take the shutdown into account and that it is still assessing the likely impact on its earnings and global supply chain from a protracted work stoppage.“The impact of this new additional problem is really unclear at this stage,” Toyota’s Leroy said.Toyota said sales in its home market were hit hard by an October sales tax hike, with income and sales declining in the latest quarter. But Japan is still its most lucrative market, where it earned more than 400 billion yen in profit and boasted margins topping 10%.\--With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima.To contact the reporter on this story: Chester Dawson in Southfield at cdawson54@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen, Reed StevensonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
