The company cited “headwinds related to market factors."
Ford has been grappling with stubbornly high warranty expenses and lagging cost-cutting efforts. In the July-September quarter, the company took $1 billion in accounting charges to write down assets for a canceled three-row electric SUV.
Model e, Ford's electric vehicle business, posted a full-year loss of $5.08 billion for 2024 as revenue fell 35% to $3.9 billion. The company's outlook calls for the EV unit to lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion this year.
Ford said that the Model e segment's losses are due in part to continued investment in future products, and touted $1.4 billion in net cost improvements even as the company increased spending to launch new battery plants and new electric vehicles.
The automaker laid out a similarly downbeat outlook for Ford Pro, its commercial vehicle unit, and Ford Blue, which makes gas and hybrid vehicles.
The automaker projects Ford Pro's full-year pretax profit between $7.5 billion and $8 billion, down from $9.02 billion this year. Ford forecast pretax earnings between $3.5 billion and $4 billion for its Ford Blue unit, down from $5.28 billion this year.
Ford also announced its fourth-quarter financial results, which topped Wall Street's estimates. Still, the outlook appeared to spook investors, which sent shares in the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker down 5.1% in after-hours trading. The stock closed 1.5% lower during regular trading.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP