[desertdrifter]

Ford Expects $600 Million First Quarter Loss

Ford (and everybody else) is losing a lot of money, Big Oil’s production cut is basically meaningless, and it’s going to be rough for electric cars for awhile. That and more in The Morning Shift for April 14, 2020.

jalopnik.com

Ford Motor Co. said on Monday it expects to post a pretax loss of about $600 million for the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic pummeled its operations, resulting in a 21 percent drop in vehicle sales to dealers versus the same quarter in 2019.

 

[silverelan]

Ford and GM have enough cash to make it to July. Then it's game over without a change in economic conditions or a cash infusion. This is bad.

 

[MachDrive]

Ford had $22b free cash and 35b liquid assets entering the year. Ford is a little more financially durable than people think. So while painful, stating Game Over is a bit of a reach.

That said, no company wants to take sustained losses. And Q2 loss is expected to be worse (especially in the US sales).
It will be 3 to 4 weeks before the start of any meaningful business openings. And even longer for people coming off unemployment to be in the position of making discretionary purchases. So It will be a while before the auto industry sales gain momentum.
What my extended family has done during every recession (depending on employment) is to keep a sustained input into the economy (within our means) to help get the country back on its feet.
So as part of that effort, most likely I will proceed with my purchase of the MMe (if i’m still employed and the car lives up to my expectations), even though I don’t necessarily need a new car.

 

[silverelan]

It's actually $2 Billion, not $600 million for the quarter.

Ford issues $8 billion debt securities after virus causes $2 billion loss

Ford Motor Co on Friday raised $8 billion from corporate debt investors to shore up its cash reserves as the coronavirus outbreak pummeled vehicle sales and production, resulting in an estimated loss of about $2 billion for the first quarter.

www.reuters.com