Ford Motor Co. has switched gears on a previously dour financial outlook, saying it now expects stronger second-quarter results thanks to cost cutting and growing demand for its new models.
Ford projects that earnings before interest and taxes in the current quarter will be “significantly better” than last year, when the company lost $1.9 billion on that basis, it said Thursday in a statement. The automaker is seeing robust demand for its newest models, including a revived Bronco sport utility vehicle, its electric F-150 Lightning pickup and the Maverick compact truck.
Shares of the carmaker rose 2.6% in premarket trading to $15.41 as of 9 a.m. in New York. The stock is up about 71% this year.
Ford had earlier forecast a $2.5 billion hit to earnings this year due to the global semiconductor shortage, which it said would cut second-quarter production in half. But the U.S. auto market has proven more buoyant than expected and vehicle prices have risen as inventories dwindle on dealer lots. The paucity of new vehicles has driven up prices of used cars, which is padding profits at the automaker’s lending arm, Ford Credit.
Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley plans to provide more details on the company’s outlook later Thursday when he speaks at a Deutsche Bank automotive conference. He will report reservations have swelled to 190,000 for the new Bronco, some 125,000 of which have already been converted to orders for the full-size SUV now in production. Reservations for the battery-electric F-150 Lightning pickup stand at 100,000, and 36,000 reservations have been placed for the all-new Maverick compact pickup.
Last month, the CEO announced Ford was boosting investments in electric vehicles by 36% to $30 billion and sees four-in-10 of its global sales being battery-powered by 2030.
