Ford Motor Company surpassed Wall Street expectations for the first quarter of 2025 but has suspended its full-year financial guidance due to the anticipated $2.5 billion impact of tariffs introduced by former President Donald Trump. While the company plans to offset $1 billion of these additional costs through strategic adjustments and improved volume and pricing, it still anticipates a net impact of $1.5 billion for the year. Ford cited multiple risk factors for withdrawing its forecast, including the possibility of industry-wide supply chain disruptions and the threat of further or retaliatory tariffs, particularly affecting U.S. operations.
This estimated impact is significantly lower than that of rival General Motors, which reported a projected tariff-related cost of $4 to $5 billion, largely due to its higher volume of imports. GM also indicated that it would be able to offset only about 30% of those expenses. In contrast, Ford imports fewer vehicles and has implemented several mitigation strategies, including ceasing vehicle exports to China, altering imports from China, and making logistical adjustments. These actions helped reduce the first-quarter tariff burden, initially estimated at $200 million, by 35%.
In the first quarter, Ford recorded earnings per share of 14 cents adjusted, outperforming the anticipated 2 cents. Automotive revenue reached $37.42 billion, also exceeding the $36.21 billion projected by analysts. Nonetheless, total revenue declined by 5% year-over-year to $40.7 billion, down from $42.8 billion, and adjusted EBIT dropped from $2.76 billion to $1.02 billion. Net income fell to $471 million, compared to $1.33 billion during the same period last year.
Ford’s “Blue” operations, which include traditional vehicle production, saw EBIT collapse by nearly 90% to $96 million, despite only a 3% drop in revenue. The “Pro” commercial division reported a 16% revenue drop to $15.2 billion, with EBIT falling from over $3 billion to $1.31 billion. Losses for its electric vehicle segment, “Model e,” narrowed from $1.33 billion to $849 million.
Despite the challenging environment, the company reaffirmed progress in improving vehicle quality and maintaining its cost-reduction target of $1 billion this year, excluding tariff impacts. Ford will revisit and potentially revise its 2025 financial guidance in its next earnings report.
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