Ford (NYSE:F) CFO John Lawler wants the company to manage its money better, which he calls Ford’s “Achilles heel.” To do this, Ford plans to form more partnerships like those in China and work harder to cut costs, which will make the auto company more efficient and improve profit margins. The strategy will also aim to grow the company’s revenue without needing as much investment. Nevertheless, shares fell in today’s trading as the news failed to excite investors.
Cutting costs is a big part of Ford’s plan to boost profits, with $2 billion in savings expected this year, mostly from materials and manufacturing changes. Furthermore, Lawler mentioned that while EV prices have dropped over 20%, the cost cuts haven’t kept up, so Ford will continue to work on reducing Model e expenses this year.
In addition, to make the business stronger and less affected by market swings, Ford plans to expand its services like software and fleet management. In fact, it aims to double its connected vehicle services and boost its gross margin in this area to 40%.
Is Ford Stock a Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on Ford stock based on seven Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6% decline in its share price over the past year, the average Ford price target of $15.25 per share implies 24.74% upside potential.
