Why Ford Stock Is Volatile Today
What happened
Investors were unsure what to do with Ford's (NYSE: F) stock today. The automaker's share price initially fell this morning after the company reported its third-quarter results.
While Ford beat Wall Street's top- and bottom-line consensus estimates, investors were likely concerned that the company posted a net loss and continues to face supply chain issues.
But the automotive stock then rebounded later as investors factored in the latest economic data, which showed better-than-expected GDP growth in the third quarter.
When added all together, Ford's stock fell by as much as 3.3% this morning but was up by 1.2% as of 12:15 p.m. ET.
Image source: Ford.
So what
Ford said that its total sales increased by 10% to $39.4 billion in the quarter, which was better than analysts' average estimate of $36.2 billion.
The company's non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $0.30 were far below the $0.51 from the year-ago quarter but still beat Wall Street's expectation of $0.27 per share for the quarter.
Ford made a significant change to its business in the quarter, saying that it's shifting away from its autonomous vehicle technology company Argo AI -- which it co-owned with Volkswagen -- and will instead develop lower-level semi-autonomous technologies in-house.
"During the quarter, Ford concluded that the auto industry's large-scale profitable commercialization of Level 4 advanced drivers assistance systems will be further out than originally anticipated..." the company said in a press release.
Ford recorded a $2.7 billion noncash, pre-tax charge on its Argo AI investment in the quarter, resulting in a net loss of $827 million for the company.
Additionally, Ford said that its latest financial results were influenced by "supply chain shortages" that resulted in 40,000 vehicles that were still "awaiting needed parts" in the quarter.
The company also said that it spent about $1 billion in "higher-than-expected" supplier payments as well.
Ford expects to complete the vehicles and send them to dealers in the fourth quarter.
Now what
Ford's initial share price drop today came as investors worried that the company's high supplier costs and supply chain issues could continue. Investors have been generally pessimistic about the automotive industry lately, as rising material costs and supply chain shortages have plagued automakers over the past couple of years.
But one bright spot for Ford investors today was the fact that U.S. GDP grew 2.6% in the third quarter, which was better than economists' consensus estimate of 2.3%.
That helped ease investor fears that a recession is around the corner, and likely helped give Ford's stock a slight boost following its latest financial results.
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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Volkswagen AG. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
