Goodyear faces much higher costs this year

Article Excerpt

Goodyear’s longer-term outlook is positive as demand for its tires continues to recover. In addition, it’s making significant investments in future tire technologies, including for electric vehicles. But in the near term, it faces considerable inflationary pressures. GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER, $14.08, is a buy. The manufacturer (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 281.8 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; No dividends paid) expects inflationary cost pressures to push its expenses up by $700 million to $800 million in just the first half of this year compared to last year. That jump reflects increased costs for raw materials, wages, benefits, transportation and energy. All of this means that the company now expects to just break even on a cash flow basis in 2022. That’s after the tire manufacturer reported positive cash flow of over $1 billion in 2021. Longer term, though, Goodyear’s outlook is positive. Demand for tires continues to recover, especially for commercial truck tires. And to combat inflation, the company will…