2026 Ford Mustang Darkish Horse SC on show throughout the Media Preview of the 2026 Chicago Auto Present at McCormick Place on February 6, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois.
Jacek Boczarski | Anadolu | Getty Pictures
DETROIT – Ford Motor reported its largest quarterly earnings miss in 4 years in its fourth-quarter outcomes launched Tuesday, whereas guiding for 2026 to be a rebound yr for the automaker.
Ford’s 2026 steerage contains adjusted EBIT of between $8 billion and $10 billion, up from $6.8 billion final yr; adjusted free money circulate of between $5 billion and $6 billion, up from $3.5 billion in 2025; and capital expenditures of $9.5 billion to $10.5 billion, up from $8.8 billion.
Here is how the corporate carried out within the fourth quarter in contrast with common estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 13 cents adjusted vs. 19 cents anticipated
- Automotive income: $42.4 billion vs. $41.83 billion anticipated
The EPS coming in 32% beneath consensus was the corporate’s first quarterly miss since 2024 and its worst since a 42% distinction when reporting its 2021 fourth-quarter outcomes, in response to LSEG.
The earnings miss was largely resulting from sudden tariff prices of roughly $900 million associated to credit for auto components not taking impact as early as anticipated, the corporate stated. Ford, as of Dec. 15, had confirmed $7.7 billion in earnings earlier than curiosity and taxes for the fourth quarter, however the further prices dropped that to $6.8 billion.
Ford CFO Sherry Home stated the lower-than-expected earnings have been additionally associated to further impacts from fires at a Novelis aluminum provider plant final yr in New York, which now is not anticipated to be totally operational till the center of this yr. The plant provides Ford’s profitable F-Collection pickup vans.
“We are going to see a billion-dollar profit roughly in 2026; nonetheless, this yr, as a result of Novelis impression, we will have tariffs rising with a purpose to safe aluminum that’s roughly the identical quantity of that financial savings,” Home advised reporters.
Ford’s web tariff impression is predicted to be roughly flat year-over-year at $2 billion in 2026, she stated. The Novelis fireplace had an impression of $2 billion throughout the second half of the yr for Ford, she added.
Home and Ford CEO Jim Farley stated the corporate’s 2025 outcomes proceed to show the corporate’s underlying enterprise is bettering regardless of the particular gadgets impacting outcomes.
The corporate’s 2025 income was a file $187.3 billion, up 1% from $185 billion a yr earlier. That features $45.9 billion throughout the fourth quarter, down 5% from a yr earlier than.
On a enterprise unit degree, the automaker’s conventional and fleet operations are anticipated to offset an anticipated $4 billion to $4.5 billion in losses this yr for its “Mannequin e” electrical automobile unit. Pre-tax earnings from its “Ford Professional” fleet enterprise are anticipated to be between $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion, adopted by $4 billion to $4.5 billion for its conventional “Blue” enterprise.
On an unadjusted foundation, the corporate’s web lack of $8.2 billion final yr was its largest because the Nice Recession in 2008, in response to FactSet. That included $15.5 billion in particular prices throughout the fourth quarter largely associated to a pre-announced pullback in its all-electric automobile plans.
Automakers generally exclude “particular gadgets” or one-time prices from their adjusted monetary outcomes to offer buyers with a clearer image of their core, ongoing enterprise operations.
Ford reported a fourth-quarter web lack of $11.1 billion, or a lack of $2.77 per share, in contrast with web revenue of $1.8 billion, or 45 cents per share, in the identical interval in 2024. Adjusted for the one-time prices, the corporate reported earnings of 13 cents per share.
