Ford Posts a $1.7 Billion Loss in the Fourth Quarter

Automaker Ford reported its fourth quarter financial result this week which revealed a $1.7 billion loss. Earnings of $0.12 per share were behind the $0.15 that were expected. Revenue at $36.7 billion was slightly ahead of the $36.49 billion expected.

The Dearborn Michigan-based company saw its shares fall around 9% during after-hours trading on Tuesday to roughly $8.30 a share.

Looking ahead, the company’s projects for 2020 also disappointed. The company is projecting full-year earnings in the range of 94 cents to $1.20, or adjusted earnings before interest and taxes in the range of $5.6 billion and $6.6 billion.

Ford also said it would take a pretax hit of about $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter due to contributions to its employee pension plans and retirement benefits.

Ford CEO Jim Hackett described the company as being “at a crossroads” as it executes an $11 billion global restructuring plan through the early-2020s.

“Our leadership team is determined to return to world-class levels of operational execution,” he said during the earnings call. “We will do that without losing any momentum in creating a Ford Motor Co. that will thrive and generate long-term value in these fast, changing times.”

Electric vehicle maker Tesla has a roughly $160 billion valuation of nearly five times higher than Ford. “The thing about Tesla, CEOs don’t ever talk from this table about competitors, but I have been really candid in the company since I came about what’s the business model that’s there and what, frankly, about it is attractive,” remarked Hackett.

Speaking about the company’s new all-electric Mustang Mach-e, Hackett said, “This product … lives in great respect for the Ford legacy, but as it respects it, it’s not in reverence, it’s not in such reverence that it can’t change. This vehicle is an iconic example of what we’ve been working on.”

Ford CFO Tim Stone said on Tuesday, “The things that we’re doing in ’19 and ‘20 set us up well for potential improvements in ’21.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and have not been compensated for this article.