Ford tops first-quarter earnings estimates as commercial unit offsets EV losses

DETROIT — Sales of Ford Motor trucks and other commercial vehicles led the automaker to beat Wall Street's earnings estimates for the first quarter, offsetting losses of its electric vehicles.

The company maintained its 2024 earnings guidance of adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, of between $10 billion and $12 billion. It slightly lowered capital expenditure expectations and raised its adjusted free cash flow outlook for the year.

The automaker now expects to generate adjusted free cash flow of $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion, up from a previous outlook of $6 billion to $7 billion. Its forecast for capital expenditures is now $8 billion to $9 billion, narrower than the $8 billion to $9.5 billion range it originally estimated.

Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler on Wednesday described the quarter as "solid," with the company tracking to the higher end of its previously announced guidance.

While the automaker beat earnings estimates, it slightly missed on automotive revenue. Here are the results for Ford's first quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations, according to LSEG:

Ford's overall revenue for the first quarter, including its credit business, increased about 3% year over year to $42.78 billion.

Net income for the period was $1.33 billion, or 33 cents per share, compared with $1.76 billion, or 44 cents, a year earlier. Adjusted EBIT declined 18% year over year to $2.76 billion, or 49 cents per share.

Ford's traditional business, known as Ford Blue, reported adjusted earnings that were down 66% compared to a year earlier to $905 million. Its Ford Pro commercial business earned $3.01 billion, up 120% from the first quarter of last year. Ford's Model e electric vehicle unit posted a $1.32 billion loss