While we were all starting to get a bit concerned about legacy automaker Ford (F), there are some good signs coming out around this stock. 2024 was not a great year for Ford, with its labor troubles, its losses in electric vehicles, and its warranty costs coming back to haunt it from all the recalls. But things are getting better.
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The big win for Ford was not that it had so many recalls, but that it was no longer the leader in recalls. This point is somewhat ironic, given that just yesterday we heard about another recall at Ford, but Ford is actually paring down its recall efforts. That honor instead went to Stellantis (STLA), which posted 71 recalls in 2024. Ford was still high, no mistake; it posted 67 such efforts, while General Motors (GM) only brought in 32, or a little less than half Ford’s total.
Just no longer being the worst figure when it comes to recalls goes a long way to reinforce a quality mindset, not only from the workers building the cars, but from those planning to buy one. It also helps prevent warranty costs from kicking in; if nothing goes wrong with the car until the warranty expires, then the warranty cost Ford virtually nothing to issue.
The Off-Roading Porsche Continues
Remember how Ford was working to be “the Porsche of off-road vehicles”? Well, a new report out suggests that effort is well under way, as evidenced by the Ford Raptor at the Dakar Rally. Given that the Dakar Rally goes across around 5,000 miles of desert, that is about as off-road as it gets. And the Raptor was built with such conditions in mind.
Ford calls the Dakar Rally “two weeks of unrelenting misery,” and with good reason. And while some of what Ford did to the Raptor T1+ will likely never see production—this is a purpose-built vehicle, after all—Ford may be able to learn a few lessons to make much less strenuous off-roading possible. But with the Coyote V8 engine serving as the power plant, and a modular tube frame to absorb shocks, Ford may be able to bring out an off-roading giant to regular users.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, nine Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 4.48% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.13 per share implies 0.25% upside potential.
