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Ford sees $1.5 bn tariff hit this year, suspends 2025 forecast / Photo: © AFP/File
NYSE - LSE
Ford sees $1.5 bn tariff hit this year, suspends 2025 forecast
Ford reported a 65 percent drop in first-quarter profits Monday, citing a near-term drag on auto sales from new vehicle launches, as it withdrew its forecast amid tariff uncertainty.
The carmaker estimated a full-year hit of about $1.5 billion in adjusted operating earnings following President Donald Trump's myriad tariff actions since returning to the White House in January.
Profits came in at $471 million, beating analyst expectations but just over a third of the level in the 2024 period, with revenues falling five percent to $40.7 billion.
In the first quarter, Ford wholesale units fell seven percent from the year-ago level, a drop the automaker had previously telegraphed due to slowed output at plants in Kentucky and Michigan where new vehicles are being launched.
In March, Ford began shipping the new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator to customers.
Profits fell in Ford's "Pro" division, which is geared toward fleet and sales to businesses, and in its "Blue" division, which consists of conventional internal combustion engine cars. But losses declined in Ford's electric vehicle division.
Ford described its underlying business as "strong," saying it had been on track with the prior projection of between $7 and $8.5 billion in adjusted operating earnings, excluding tariff-related impacts.
Ford is "suspending" its guidance due to myriad uncertainties. Besides tariffs and potential retaliatory tariffs, Ford cited other "material near-term" risks as including potential supply chain disruption and uncertainty over emissions policy changes in Washington.
"These are substantial industry risks, which could have significant impacts on financial results, and that make updating full year guidance challenging right now given the potential range of outcomes," Ford said.
The company expects 2025 pricing to be flat to slightly higher.
As far as car sales, "we're seeing a strong first half in the industry," Chief Financial Officer Sherry House said of a period that included an uptick in sales to buyers who wanted to get ahead of tariffs.
House expects "some potential compression" in sales in the second half of 2025 when prices could tick higher amid tariffs, resulting in a net for all of 2025 of flat or up about one percent.
Ford fell 2.2 percent in after-hours trading.
A. Ribeiro--JDB
