Ford's profit jumps as carmaker powers through an EV slowdown

By Claudia Assis

Ford also raises outlook for the year, confirms 'early' talks on defense

Ford Broncos at a dealership in Austin, Texas.

Ford Motor late Wednesday handily beat Wall Street's quarterly earnings expectations, thanks in part to a hefty tariff refund, and powered through another loss for its EV business.

The company raised its outlook for the year, although it said the rosier prospects did not include the potential fallout from "a sustained conflict in the Middle East or a significant downturn in the U.S. economy."

The stock (F) rallied at the start of after-hours trading, but turned about 1.3% lower as Wall Street zeroed in on headwinds from rising commodity prices.

CEO Jim Farley also confirmed "early discussions" with the U.S. government on what he called "some defense-related projects." The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Trump administration was asking Ford and General Motors to take on bigger roles in weapons production.

Farley declined to give more details, but went on to say that investors should expect the company to play an "outsized role" in key areas like semiconductors and critical minerals.

The company's supply chain "is heavily engaged not only with our government, but new companies that are starting to emerge in our country to onshore some of this capability," he said.

Ford's results were much better than expected, hence the initial boost for the stock, but it led to questions of why the company didn't raise the full-year guidance even more, said Garrett Nelson, an analyst with CFRA.

Ford seems to be expecting commodity costs to be an even greater headwind in 2026, he added.

On the call with analysts after the results, Ford executives said they expect commodity headwinds of just above $2 billion, about $1 billion higher than their previous estimate, mostly on higher aluminum prices and global supply constraints for the metal, used in auto bodies, including Ford's best-selling F-150 pickup truck.

Aluminum supplies have been a headache for Ford ever since a fire last year destroyed part of an aluminum supplier's plant.

Ford reported a non-GAAP profit of 66 cents a share in the first quarter, nearly four times as much as the FactSet consensus for 18 cents a share, and a jump from 14 cents a share in the year-ago period.

Ford's results included a $1.3 billion one-time tariff refund tied to the Supreme Court's decision to strike some of the Trump administration's tariffs.

Ford's revenue rose 6% to $43.3 billion in the quarter, topping Wall Street's expectations for $42.7 billion, according to FactSet.

Nearly half of Ford's revenue, or some $24 billion, came from its internal-combustion-engine business, which the company calls Ford Blue.

Its EV segment, on the other hand, was another instance of red ink for the company - Ford reported an adjusted loss of $777 million for the segment. The carmaker is working on a new EV platform in hopes of launching cheaper EVs to boost its business.

Ford raised its guidance for 2026 adjusted profit from $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion, up from a previous outlook of $8 billion to $10 billion.

It kept capital expenditures unchanged at between $9.5 billion and $10.5 billion.

GM (GM) earlier this week also raised its outlook for the year, and said it had a tariff refund of about $500 million.

-Claudia Assis

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04-29-26 2043ET