Ford reports Q2 earnings beat but takes $800M tariff hit

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Ford (F) posted an earnings and revenue beat for the second quarter, reinstating full-year guidance, but upped its full-year tariff exposure after seeing $800 million in tariff costs in Q2 alone.

For the year, Ford said it now expects a "net tariff-related headwind of about $2 billion," which reflects a $3 billion gross adverse adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) impact, partially offset by $1 billion of mitigation efforts. Ford CFO Sherry House said on a call with reporters that mitigation efforts could include higher pricing for certain vehicles or using "bonded" rail carriers between Canada and Mexico.

Ford also issued new guidance, with full-year adjusted EBIT seen at $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion, which the company said now takes into account the $2 billion tariff impact. Ford also said it sees full-year adjusted free cash flow in a range of $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion, with capital expenditures of about $9 billion.

Ford stock rebounded in early trade on Thursday after being lower in premarket trading.

Prior to withdrawing guidance in February, the company had seen full-year adjusted EBIT guidance $7.0 billion to $8.5 billion.

For the quarter, Ford reported revenue of $50.2 billion vs $44.14 billion estimated per Bloomberg consensus, up 5% compared to a year ago. Ford posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.37 vs. $0.33 expected, on adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of $2.1 billion vs $1.91 billion estimated.

Ford said its adjusted EBIT was impacted by $800 million in net tariff exposure in Q2. Last week, Big Three rival GM (GM) reported that profit dipped in Q2 as tariffs added $1.1 billion to costs. And Dodge parent Stellantis (STLA) said on Tuesday that tariffs ate away nearly $350 million in profit in Q2, with the full-year tally expected at $1.73 billion.

The impact of tariffs, as well as rising warranty costs for recalls that have plagued Ford vehicles, weighed on results. For example, Ford booked a $570 million charge in Q2 related to the recall of 700,000 SUVs due to fire risk.

As part of its Ford+ plan, Ford divided its business into three units: Ford Blue for the traditional gas-powered business, Ford Model e for the electric vehicle division, and Ford Pro for its commercial and super duty truck business. Ford reported the following in Q2:

  • Ford Blue: $25.8 billion in revenue, $661 million in EBIT

  • Model e: $2.4 billion in revenue, -$1.329 billion in EBIT

  • Ford Pro: $18.8 billion in revenue, $2.318 billion in EBIT

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