Ford turns $561M profit in Q2, raises full-year outlook despite chip shortage | Automotive News

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday posted second-quarter net income of $561 million, crediting strong demand for helping it stay in the black despite the ongoing global semiconductor shortage and improving its forecast for the rest of the year.

Ford’s overall profit fell by about half from a year earlier, but it reported adjusted earnings of $1.1 billion before interest and taxes, up from a $1.9 billion loss in the second quarter of 2020 as the pandemic began. Its adjusted margin rose to 4 percent.

The automaker had warned that second-quarter net income would be “substantially lower” because of last year’s one-time $3.5 billion gain on its investment in Argo AI.

Ford said it had expected a net loss for the quarter but performed better because of strong demand, lower incentives and a favorable mix of more profitable vehicles. Revenue rose 38 percent from a year earlier to $26.8 billion.

Ford raised its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $9 billion to $10 billion, from $5.5 billion to $6.5 billion previously.

The company earned $194 million in North America, the region’s smallest profit since the second quarter of 2020, as the chip shortage forced significant downtime at many assembly plants. It lost money in Europe and China, while Ford Credit had record earnings of $1.6 billion.

Ford shares gained 3.3 percent to $14.32 in after-hours trading.