Ford reports Q3 earnings beat, tightens lower end of profit forecast but sees $4 billion in EV losses for year

Ford ( F ) reported third quarter earnings that topped estimates and upped the lower end of its profit guidance. The company still sees EV losses piling up by the end of the year.

For the quarter, Ford reported automotive revenue of $46.1 billion vs. $46.2 billion, per Bloomberg consensus, with adjusted EPS of $0.49 vs. $0.41, and adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of $2.66 billion vs. $2.38 billion.

Ford tightened the low end of its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to between $10.5 billion and $11 billion (from $10 billion to $11 billion seen prior); analysts projected full-year adjusted EBIT of $10.52 billion. Ford's adjusted free cash flow guidance remained at $6 billion to $7 billion.

Ford sees commodity headwinds approaching $2.5 billion year over year (up from $2 billion last quarter) and US industry pricing "about 100 basis points" higher year over year.

On the flip side, Ford sees $1 billion in material and warranty cost reductions, excluding tariffs and the costs of the Novelis factory fire. Ford CFO Sherry House said on a call with reporters that Ford is seeing some increases in steel and copper prices, and expects more price inflation in 2027.

"We are still expecting significant commodity cost increases going into 2027, accompanied by logistics cost increases due to fuel costs rising and also chip prices increasing moderately this year, but more significantly next year and beyond," House said.

Despite this, House added that she sees Ford's full-year 2027 profit "roughly in line" with 2026 results.

Ford's Model e EV business unit posted a Q3 loss of $1.06 billion vs. an estimated $1.17 billion on revenue of $1.2 billion vs. $1.12 billion, down 31% from a year ago, when the federal EV tax expired at quarter-end. In July, Ford said its Model e outlook included about $1 billion in added spending on its Universal EV platform and Ford Energy, mostly in the second half. Ford projects Model e will lose another $4 billion in 2026.

Last week, rival GM narrowed its 2026 EBIT-adjusted guidance to $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion while raising its EPS outlook; shares slid despite an earnings beat, with investors hoping for more.

One area that may have negatively impacted operations occurred at the end of the quarter in September. Ford canceled all production crews at its Dearborn Truck Plant for nearly a week because of a supply problem, according to Reuters , and Kansas City Assembly cut shifts too.

Ford called it "a short-term supplier issue unrelated to aluminum" and said the hit is "containable within the full-year 2026 adjusted EBIT guidance."