Ford Sees up to $2 Billion Profit Hit From Key Supplier Fire
Ford Motor Co. expects a profit hit of as much as $2 billion after a devastating fire at a key supplier of aluminum for its top-selling F-150 pickup truck, overshadowing financial results that exceeded expectations.
The automaker now expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $6 billion to $6.5 billion, down from as much as $7.5 billion under its previous guidance, the company said as it announced third-quarter earnings Thursday. The low end of that new range represents a 41% drop from the $10.2 billion Ford earned by that measure last year.
Ford expects the Novelis Inc. factory to return to full production by the end of November or early December, Kumar Galhotra, chief operating officer, told reporters. The situation will reduce Ford’s production by 100,000 vehicles this year, though the company expects to make up most of that in 2026 by boosting production of F-Series trucks.
“What we lost this year, we’ll gain most of it back next year,” Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
The comments provided relief to investors who sent Ford’s shares up 4.1% at 5:18 p.m. in New York, erasing earlier declines after the results were released. The stock had gained about 25% this year through Thursday’s close, better than the broader S&P 500 Index.
The announcement is Ford’s first detailed accounting of the damage it expects from a Sept. 16 fire at Novelis aluminum factory in Oswego, New York, that has disrupted a critical supplier to some of its most important vehicles. The Novelis plant is Ford’s top provider of aluminum for its highly profitable F-Series pickups and large sport-utility vehicles, the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.
Ford said the supplier interruption will reduce adjusted profit this year by $1.5 billion to $2 billion, though it expects to mitigate at least $1 billion of the impact in 2026, in part by boosting production of F-150 and Super Duty pickup trucks by 50,000 vehicles. Ford said it plans to hire 1,000 workers at factories in Michigan and Kentucky to support the increase.
“We’ll be gaining a billion, if not more, of that back next year,” Farley told Bloomberg TV.
Profit Beat
Ford disclosed the Novelis fallout as it reported an otherwise strong third-quarter with profit and sales that exceeded Wall Street expectations. Adjusted earnings in the period were 45 cents a share, topping the 36-cent average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales hit a record $50.5 billion, better than the $43.7 billion analysts anticipated.
Strong sales of high margin sport-utility vehicles, such as the Bronco and Expedition, along with solid sales of F-Series pickups, fueled the third-quarter earnings beat. Revenue grew 9%, while earnings before interest and taxes of $2.6 billion matched last year’s result, despite the additional tariff headwinds.
Ford was on a path to earn more than $8 billion before interest and taxes this year prior to the fire, Chief Financial Officer Sherry House told reporters.
“We would have raised guidance if not for the Novelis fire,” House said.
Ford also now expects President Donald Trump’s tariffs to result in a $1 billion financial hit, down from its earlier estimate of a $2 billion net impact.
House said the reduction is a result of Trump’s Oct. 17 proclamation that levied a 25% tariff on imported heavy trucks and prolonged to 2030 a tariff discount the president already provided carmakers that produce and sell completed automobiles in the US. Ford builds all its F-Series pickup trucks in US factories.
“We will benefit from this,” House said of the latest tariff measures from Trump. “We’re expecting similar costs to this year, next year on tariffs.”
Pro Profits
Ford Pro, the automaker’s healthy business in commercial vehicles and logistics services, earned nearly $2 billion before interest and taxes. That’s up from $1.8 billion in last year’s third quarter.
Ford Blue, the automaker’s traditional business that includes internal combustion engine vehicles and gas-electric hybrids, earned $1.5 billion before interest and taxes. That’s down from $1.6 billion in the same period last year. Ford’s US vehicle deliveries rose 8.2% in the quarter.
Ford’s electric vehicle unit, Model e, lost $1.4 billion in the quarter, more than the $1.2 billion loss in the year-earlier period. Ford unveiled plans in August for a new line of budget-priced EVs due to hit the market in 2027. CEO Farley said last month that the market for battery powered cars in the US will be “way smaller than we thought.”