Ford Breaches $6 After Deutsche Bank Doubts Downturn Readiness
Ford Breaches $6 After Deutsche Bank Doubts Downturn Readiness
(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. shares fell below $6 for the first time in more than a decade after a Deutsche Bank analyst questioned how ready the manufacturer is for a U.S. auto industry slump.
Emmanuel Rosner, who rates Ford’s stock a hold, emerged from a meeting with Chief Financial Officer Tim Stone last week struggling to see an inflection point for the carmaker’s financial results. Ford has forecast earnings before interest and taxes will be $5.6 billion to $6.6 billion, but that projection -- the midpoint of which would be down from last year -- doesn’t include any impact from the new coronavirus that’s hurting the industry.
“We also worry about Ford’s preparedness for an eventual U.S. industry downturn and the impact it could have on its balance sheet,” Rosner wrote in a report distributed late Friday.
Ford shares fell as much as 9.4% to $5.88 on Monday, the lowest intraday since July 2009. The slump in the stock under Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett surpassed the 37% decline during the tenure of his predecessor, Mark Fields, as of last week.
To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Southfield, Michigan at knaughton3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.