August proved to be a good month for legacy automaker Ford (F), who posted a substantial increase in sales for the month. But investors were oddly displeased by this news and staged a modest sell-off of Ford shares in Thursday afternoon’s trading. Ford noted that its August sales were up 13% overall, thanks to a surge in truck and hybrid vehicle sales.
It posted total sales of around 183,000 vehicles for the month, with truck sales up 12.3% and hybrid sales up around 50% against the same time in 2023. Even all-electric vehicle sales saw a surge, jumping 29% in that time.
Yet, despite these impressive numbers, EVs still made up a comparatively slim portion of overall sales. Ford’s gas-powered vehicles accounted for 86% of total sales, proving that the market is still overwhelmingly in favor of cars that run on gasoline. Given that industry estimates were looking for just a 6% increase in total sales, it is clear that Ford ran the table.
An Ad-Supported Car?
In one of those ideas that you hope never gets off the drawing board, Ford landed a new patent that may represent a fundamental change to our everyday drive. In fact, it gives Ford a way to route advertising to your car’s infotainment screen. The patent was applied for in 2023, notes an Autoblog report, but it was only published recently.
The system is apparently not only capable of presenting advertisements, but also reacting to your response to said advertisement. If you cancel an ad or otherwise act unpleasantly, the car can modify its ad lineup to present ads that better fit your needs. It can also change frequency or alter volume as needed. It remains, however, a safe bet that no one will want this without some kind of incentive.
Is Ford Stock a Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on F stock based on five Buys, eight Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 3.86% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $14 per share implies 29.57% upside potential.
