Ford enjoys a strong first quarter, helped by its truck and fleet businesses.

Ford outperforms expectations on both the top and bottom lines thanks to its truck and fleet operations.

DEARBORN —Ford Motor reported first-quarter results on Tuesday that were much better than Wall Street expectations, as the automaker’s fleet and heritage operations offset mounting losses in electric vehicle production.

Ford reaffirmed its previously stated 2023 guidance in spite of the large beat, and the price edged lower in after-hours trade.

Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Tuesday

Morgan Stanley upgrades GM, says stock is oversold

The quarter, according to Ford’s head of finance John Lawler, represented a “peek at what’s possible to generate value and growth.” His remarks follow CEO Jim Farley’s claim that the company’s failure to take advantage of $2 billion in additional revenues last year was caused by “execution issues.”

Here is how Ford performed during the quarter in comparison to expectations set by Wall Street based on the average estimates gathered by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: 63 cents, adjusted, vs. 41 cents expected
Automotive revenue: $39.09 billion vs. $36.08 billion expected

During the conference call to discuss the results, Farley stated that the company had a “solid quarter while making real progress on our Ford+ growth plan.”

“I hope that becomes a trend at Ford, boringly predictable when it comes to execution and delivering financials, but extremely ambitious in dynamically creating the Ford of the future,” added Farley.

The business restated that it anticipates $6 billion in adjusted free cash flow and full-year adjusted earnings between $9 billion and $11 billion. Ford stated that it anticipates investing between $8 billion and $9 billion on major projects in 2023.

Ford reaffirmed that it anticipates losing around $3 billion in 2023 from its Model e electric vehicle business. Ford reported that as it ramped up EV production, the operations’ loss increased to $722 million in the first quarter from $380 million a year earlier.

However, the Ford Blue traditional car division of the company and the Ford Pro fleet division, which generated $2.6 billion in revenue and $1.4 billion in revenue respectively, more than offset those losses. The automaker claimed that both business divisions were successful in every market in which they do business.

In addition to its first-generation EVs by 2024, Lawler reaffirmed that the automaker anticipates Model e to report a positive EBIT margin of 8% by the end of 2026.

For the first time, Ford is releasing its quarterly financial results by business unit rather than by region. The Detroit carmaker issued updated 2021 and 2022 results earlier this year in accordance with the new structure.

Wall Street is eagerly watching the Model e EV as well as any remarks made about EV pricing in the wake of Tesla price revisions. The electric Mustang Mach-E’s beginning prices will once again be reduced by thousands of dollars, Ford announced earlier on Tuesday, as it ramps up production and reopens order books for the crossover.

Following the release of the company’s quarterly results, Lawler told reporters, “It’s a competitive segment, and we’re working on cost reductions. Ford anticipates an average decrease of $5,000 in build costs. According to him, certain models are transitioning from lithium-ion phosphate batteries to

Ford recorded a net income of $1.8 billion, or 44 cents per share, for the first quarter, as opposed to a net loss of $3.1 billion, or 78 cents per share, in the same time last year. A one-time penalty associated with its investment in EV company Rivian hurt results last year.

According to the corporation, total revenue, which accounts for Ford Credit, increased 20% from the previous year to $41.5 billion.

Ford’s first-quarter performance came under added pressure after crosstown rival General Motors boosted key projections for 2023 and released results that above Wall Street’s revenue and profitability expectations last week.

GM increased its forecast for adjusted earnings to a range of $11 to $13 billion, or $6.35 to $7.35 per share, and increased its forecast for adjusted automotive free cash flow to a range of $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion.

GM’s shares significantly declined last week despite its results and guidance increase. Wall Street analysts continued to be pessimistic about the company’s ability to succeed in the face of broader economic issues and a changing automotive industry away from expensive cars and record profits.

As supply and demand return to normal, Ford’s attorney predicted that “there will definitely be some pressure on pricing” with regard to the automaker’s legacy operations. According to him, the automaker’s pricing remained stable during the first quarter.