Ford Motor Company F reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of 66 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents by 232.3%. The bottom line increased from 14 cents in the prior-year quarter.
F’s total automotive revenues rose 6.4% year over year to $39.82 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $39.34 billion by 1.21%. The company’s consolidated first-quarter revenues came in at $43.3 billion, up 6.4% year over year.
Ford Pro paid software subscriptions climbed 30% year over year to 879,000, highlighting continued momentum in recurring revenue streams.
Ford Motor Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Ford Motor Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ford Motor Company Quote
F Posts Strong Profit Rebound on Key Tailwinds
F generated adjusted EBIT of $3.5 billion and an adjusted EBIT margin of 8.1% in the quarter, reflecting a sharp improvement from the year-ago period driven by selling higher-value vehicles, better pricing and growth in both software and service-related businesses.
A major contributor was a $1.3 billion one-time IEEPA tariff benefit related to payments made between March 2025 and February 2026.
Ford Blue Delivers Higher Revenue and Margin Expansion
Ford Blue generated $23.9 billion in revenues in the first quarter, up 14% from last year. Better product mix and higher pricing helped offset a slight drop in wholesales. Sales volumes fell 1% to 584,000 units, but strong demand for key models and a better mix supported overall performance.
EBIT jumped to $1.94 billion from $96 million a year ago, lifting the margin to 8.1%. The improvement was driven by favorable market conditions, growth in software and service-related businesses and lower compliance costs. Results also got a boost from about $0.7 billion in IEEPA tariff gains. However, aluminum supply constraints linked to Novelis, which mainly affected Super Duty availability, acted as a headwind.
F’s Pro Segment Holds Double-Digit Margin Despite Disruptions
Ford Pro segment reported revenues of $14.7 billion, down 3% from last year, as wholesales fell 10% to 316,000 units. The decline was mainly due to production disruptions related to Novelis.
Despite the disruptions, Ford Pro still delivered strong results. EBIT rose to $1.69 billion, up $376 million from last year, and the margin improved to 11.4% from 8.6%.
This was mainly driven by better cost control, including about $0.5 billion from a one-time IEEPA tariff benefit, along with gains from software and service-related businesses, currency movements, and lower compliance costs. However, some of these gains were partly offset by weaker market conditions and higher commodity costs.
Ford Model e Loss Narrows as Mix Shifts and Investments Continue
Ford Model e generated $1.2 billion in revenues, roughly unchanged from last year, while wholesales increased 10% to 34,000 units. Higher sales in Europe supported volumes, but this was partly offset by the discontinuation of the F-150 Lightning.
The segment reported an EBIT loss of $777 million, narrower than the $849 million loss a year ago. The EBIT margin improved to negative 63.1% from negative 68.4%.
The results reflected ongoing efforts to make first-generation EVs more profitable, while continuing to invest in next-generation products, including work on the new UEV platform and the ramp-up of Ford Energy.
F’s Credit Arm Benefits From Financing Margin Improvement
Ford Credit reported revenues of $3.43 billion for the quarter. Auction values rose 1% due to strong demand and limited supply, while the U.S. retail loss-to-receivables ratio increased from the previous quarter, mainly due to seasonal factors.
The segment reported earnings before taxes of $783 million, up $203 million from the prior-year quarter. The growth was supported by strong portfolio performance, higher financing margins and favorable derivative valuations.
Ford Raises 2026 EBIT Outlook and Maintains Capital Priorities
Ford reported a negative adjusted free cash flow of $1.9 billion for the quarter. It had cash and cash equivalents of $17.65 billion as of March 31, 2026. Long-term debt, excluding Ford Credit, totaled $16.33 billion as of March 31, 2026.
Ford raised full-year 2026 adjusted EBIT guidance to $8.5-$10.5 billion, up from $8-$10 billion. It reiterated its adjusted free cash flow outlook at $5 -$6 billion. Capital spending is expected to be in the band of $9.5-$10.5 billion, unchanged from the previous estimated range.
For the Ford Pro segment, it expects EBIT in the range of $6.5-$7.5 billion, and for Ford Blue, it expects EBIT in the range of $4.5-$5 billion, up from the previous estimated range of $4-$4.5 billion. It expects Model e losses of $4-$4.5 billion, and Ford Credit EBT of about $2.5 billion. At quarter-end, Ford had $43.1 billion in liquidity, underscoring balance-sheet flexibility as the company enters an intensive product and services rollout cycle.
Ford currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Releases From Auto Space
Mobileye Global Inc. MBLY reported first-quarter 2026 results on April 23. It posted earnings of 12 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents by 58.52%. The bottom line rose 50% year over year, driven by higher shipments of EyeQ system-on-chip. The company posted revenues of $558 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $520 million by 7.36% and increased 27.4% year over year.
Operating cash flow was $75 million, reflecting the company’s ability to convert its ADAS scale into cash generation.
Mobileye also approved a share buyback program of up to $250 million. By the end of the first quarter, MBLY had $1.21 billion in cash, after spending $591 million (net of cash received) on the Mentee Robotics acquisition.
Gentex Corporation GNTX reported first-quarter 2026 results on April 24. It posted adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents by 8.28%. The figure increased 11.6% from 43 cents a year ago. Net sales came in at $675 million, topping the consensus mark of $647 million by 4.36%. Revenues rose 17.1% from $577 million in the year-ago quarter, aided by contributions from VOXX and a richer mix of advanced features.
Liquidity improved during the quarter. As of March 31, 2026, GNTX’s cash and cash equivalents were $164.8 million compared with $145.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2025. Short-term investments increased to $10.3 million from $5.4 million.
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