Ford’s stock jumped by 12% on Friday after the automaker released impressive financial results. President Trump quickly took credit for the positive outcome, claiming that recent tariff adjustments had played a key role in boosting business.
The company’s auto sales hit $47.19 billion, surpassing the expectations of $43.08 billion, largely due to strong sales of pickups and SUVs in the third quarter.
On social media, Mr. Trump celebrated the moment, acting as a cheerleader for Ford and General Motors, both of which saw their shares rise more than 15% earlier in the week.
He stated, “Ford and General Motors will significantly increase tariffs on heavy and medium-duty trucks coming from other countries. Thank you, President Trump!” on a post earlier that day.
Trump had recently shared plans to extend exemptions for U.S. firms using imported auto parts and to impose new tariffs on foreign heavy-duty trucks, aiming to make American-made vehicles more competitive.
Executives from Ford and GM expressed their gratitude to the president for reducing projected tariff expenses.
“Thank you to President Trump and his team,” Ford CEO Jim Farley remarked during a call with analysts. His company has slashed its anticipated tariff expenses by $1 billion, now estimating them at around $2 billion.
GM CEO Mary Barra echoed those sentiments, thanking Trump for the “important tariff updates” earlier this week.
General Motors then revised its anticipated levy impact down by $500 million, projecting between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion.
Ford reported adjusted earnings per share of 45 cents on Thursday, beating forecasts of 36 cents.
“Our quarterly results show that the Ford+ plan is yielding consistent improvement,” said Shelly House, Ford’s CFO, referring to the company’s turnaround initiative. “Our core businesses are becoming stronger, more efficient, nimble, and more resilient.”
However, Ford had to lower its annual forecast due to a devastating fire at its New York facility, placing a halt on production of heavy-duty trucks and large SUVs, which are among its most popular and profitable products.
The fire at the Novelis aluminum plant, a critical supplier for various U.S. automakers, is expected to cost Ford between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Still, the company intends to reduce the impact by resuming production of affected vehicles once supplies become available.
This effort will include hiring an additional 1,000 employees at its Michigan and Kentucky plants next year.
Ford’s updated forecast for 2025 now includes adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $6.0 billion to $6.5 billion, down from a previous range of $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion.
Mr. House mentioned that, had it not been for the fire, Ford was planning to boost its annual forecast for adjusted EBIT to over $8 billion.
Meanwhile, General Motors experienced its best stock price surge on Tuesday since 2020, following a fulfilling report that included adjusted earnings per share of $2.80, above the expected $2.31. Its revenue reached $48.59 billion, outperforming predictions of $45.27 billion.
Barra attributed the strong quarterly performance and free cash flow to the collective efforts of the GM team and its appealing vehicle lineup.
“Given our performance, we’re confident about our future and raise our full-year outlook,” she stated.
GM now anticipates adjusted EBIT for the year to be $12 billion to $13 billion, an increase from the earlier estimate of $10 billion to $12.5 billion.
In contrast, the company laid off over 200 salaried staff on Friday, predominantly affecting computer-aided design (CAD) engineers at its Detroit tech campus.
Additionally, GM’s adjusted results exclude a $1.6 billion loss tied to shifts in its electric vehicle strategy, which stemmed from the ending of federal tax credits and weak demand.
GM’s third-quarter net income relating to shareholders was $1.3 billion, a drop of 57% from about $3.1 billion the year prior. Meanwhile, net profit margins plummeted from 6.3% to 2.7% year-over-year.
Despite these challenges, GM’s North American operations, normally its strongest profit driver, are beginning to struggle. Revenue for the third quarter exceeded $2.5 billion, but the adjusted profit margin dipped to 6.2%, down from 9.7% during the same period last year.
On the brighter side, GM’s operations in China helped mitigate the decline in North American earnings. Barra emphasized that the automaker’s top priority remains to restore adjusted profit margins to between 8% to 10% in the North American market.
