Ford Q1 earnings: Rivian investment loss generates $3.1B in red ink as execs affirm 2022 guidance
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday posted a first-quarter net loss of $3.1 billion attributable to a drop in the value of its Rivian stake but affirmed its guidance for the year despite continued production limitations.
Ford was profitable before accounting for the Rivian investment, though its adjusted earnings fell 41 percent from a year earlier to $2.3 billion before interest and taxes. Its adjusted margin was 6.7 percent, down 4.1 percentage points.
Revenue for the quarter fell 5 percent to $34.5 billion. The value of Ford’s Rivian shares fell by more than half in the quarter, to $5.1 billion. The EV startup’s stock tanked from about $102 per share at the beginning of the year to about $50 on March 31.
Ford said the industry’s ongoing microchip shortage hampered production in January and February but that its March output was higher. Its wholesale shipments fell 9 percent in the quarter to about 970,000.
The automaker reaffirmed its full-year guidance of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion in adjusted EBIT, which would mark a 15 to 25 percent rise from 2021. Ford expects production volumes to increase between 10 and 15 percent over 2021 levels.
Ford shares gained 1.9 percent to $15.14 in aftermarket trading Wednesday.
Rivian shares rose 1.7 percent to close Wednesday at $31.22.
