Large swaths of business, both American and globally, were deeply concerned about the impact of tariffs. Though most of those tariffs never materialized—at least for now—the potential for economic impact therein could be substantial . Legacy automaker Ford (F) was no different here, and some more word came out about the tariffs that may yet hit in just a few weeks. The news did little positive for Ford, and shares were down fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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CEO Jim Farley made no bones about the impact of tariffs, saying that United States industries could be set back “billions of dollars” if the tariffs actually go through and stay that way for any length of time. Farley also noted the impact of lost profits, and thus lost jobs, as well as “higher prices for customers.”
That, of course, is not a strict necessity; tariff costs do not need to be passed on to customers, but they usually are. Ford’s vice president of finance, soon to be CFO, Sherry House noted that tariffs would be a “headwind” against Ford’s performance in 2025. And while much of Ford’s car line is American made, it does make quite a bit in Mexico. However, reports noted that Farley had a plan for tariffs, at least, tariffs only lasting a short time. The longer they went, the less the plan would have held up, reports noted.
New Mach-E Details, And Another Recall
The rest of the news was a mixed bag for Ford. First came word about the Mustang Mach-E, rather, the concept version designed for NASCAR racing. While the electric Mustang may never see a race, it may at least make the track, and do so in solid style. The reports note that the new concept is producing 1,200 horsepower, and does so using three motors and an all-wheel-drive setup. It even had its own specific breed of tires from Goodyear (GT).
And then, another recall landed from Ford. It is a much larger recall than the one we described yesterday, but also much less urgent. This time, around 73,000 cars across several model lines—including the 2021 Expedition, the 2021 and 2022 Super Duty, and several breeds of Ford pickup made in that time frame—are all on the list for issues with the backup camera. Reports point to the specific camera installed as the problem, and the camera may either go blank or present a “warped image” to the user.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on three Buys, eight Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 22.73% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.73 per share implies 16.13% upside potential.
