Rising costs squeeze Ford’s earnings

Article Excerpt

FORD MOTOR CO. $11 (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 3.9 billion; Market cap: $42.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 5.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.ford.com) is the world’s fourth-largest carmaker. The company sold 1.7 million vehicles in the quarter ended March 31, 2017, down 1.0% from a year earlier. However, it’s selling more trucks and sport-utility vehicles, which cost more than regular cars. As a result, Ford’s overall revenue gained 3.8%, to $39.1 billion from $37.7 billion a year earlier. Nevertheless, earnings per share dropped 42.6%, to $0.39 from $0.68. That’s mainly due to Ford’s higher warranty obligations and rising raw material costs. The company now aims to cut $3.0 billion from its 2017 expenses, mainly by shrinking its salaried workforce. That would free up cash for its plan to spend $4.5 billion on self-driving and electric cars. Ford is still a buy. buy…