Ford Motor Co. reported $4.8 billion profit — with net income of $3.3 billion — for the first three months of this year, a dramatic contrast to one year ago.
For the first three months of 2020, Ford reported a $2 billion net loss. That marked the company's first quarterly earnings net loss since April 2009 during the Great Recession.
The company reported Wednesday that first-quarter earnings this year before interest and taxes — adjusted EBIT — was $4.8 billion, up $5.4 billion from a negative $632 million in 2020 and up from $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2019.
The net income of $3.3 billion was up $5.3 billion from a negative $2 billion in 2020, down from a positive $1.1 billion in 2019.
Ford ends the quarter with $31 billion in cash on hand and $47 billion in liquidity.
A year ago, Ford had $34 billion in cash on hand and $35 billion in liquidity.
For now, Ford and the Detroit Three automakers will continue to struggle as they and other industries navigate the economic nightmare created first by COVID-19 and later the global semiconductor shortage that has crippled production.
Meanwhile, Ford Credit saw earnings of $962 million, compared with $30 million in 2020.
The automaker reported a first quarter profit of $1.12 per share, adjusted, or $1.31 per share diluted, beating Wall Street analyst expectations.
Early Wednesday, prior to the earnings release, Ford announced leadership changes in its operations in China, India and South America meant to speed up the company's "turnaround" in those locations.
While the semiconductor shortage has plagued the entire industry, Ford has been hit among the worst because it has so many new product launches.
“The chipset shortage has thrown a wrench into what should have been a particularly lucrative year for Ford, which finally seemed to be getting its groove back after struggling with an aging product lineup, changeup in leadership and production woes," Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights for Edmunds.com automotive research site, said in a statement.
"The harsh reality of current supply constraints is that it’s not only limiting current vehicle sales and production but holding the company back from fully capitalizing on what should have been an exciting product period that would have created a halo effect for the brand," she said.
Trucks, as always, continue to be a saving grace for Ford.
"F-150 remains one of the most coveted trucks in the industry, and although Ford’s first quarter sales were flat, the company has sustained increases in average transaction prices which should help drive profitability," Caldwell said. "Ford is hanging on tight for now, but might find itself in a less secure position as this chipset shortage continues with no immediate end in sight.”
Sales data analysis of the Detroit Three for first quarter in the U.S., compiled by Ivan Drury at Edmunds, shows:
—Ford trailed General Motors in car sales with 521,334 versus 642,571. Stellantis sold 476,909 vehicles. Ford grew just 1% compared with 3.9% for GM and 6.7% for Stellantis year over year.
—Ford trailed GM in market share with 13.4% to 16.5%. Stellantis held at 12.2%. All companies saw their shares erode with Ford down 9.1%, GM down 6.4% and Stellantis down 3.9%.
—While all average transaction prices spiked, Ford continued to see the highest with $47,838. GM grew to $44,567 and Stellantis climbed to $45,141.
—GM saw the fastest sale of vehicles on the lot at 56.7 days while Ford vehicles sold in 64 days and Stellantis in 65 days.
—GM retained the highest trade-in loyalty rate at 54.7% while Ford came in at 53.2% and Stellantis at 50.2%. Both GM and Stellantis saw loyalty drop nearly 2% while Ford grew nearly 8% from a year ago.
