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Ford Motor (F)

Ford Motor (F)


Year-to-date, Ford stock is up 39% to $11.82 a share. That’s after a recent pullback when the company announced that the global semiconductor shortage would continue impacting production of popular vehicles such as the Bronco SUV and Ranger pick-up truck.

The legendary Detroit automaker won’t let the global chip shortage stop its future plans. The company is proceeding to invest $185 million into a new battery lab as it moves to manufacture its own battery cells for future electric vehicles. The company also plans to build Ford Ion Park, a 200,000-square-foot production facility expected to open in Detroit by the end of 2022. Like other major automakers, Ford is all in on electric vehicles and the ascent of its share price this year reflects the company’s focus on an all-electric future.

Ford stock crumbled 9.4% on that news in late April, despite the company reporting Q1 earnings and revenue that crushed estimates. Wall Street expected Ford to report earnings of 14 cents a share on revenue of $32.63 billion. Yet strong earnings were offset by news that Ford will cut its Q2 production levels by 50%. Current CEO James Farley hinted that the chip shortage will get worse before the outlook improves.



Key tech partnerships are part of Ford’s strategy as well. Ford stock gained 2.9% on Feb. 1 after CEO Farley announced the 117-year old automaker is partnering with tech giant Google. The Michigan-based carmaker and Alphabet-owned company will form a new collaborative group called Team Upshift. In addition to the joint venture, the deal will make Google the preferred cloud service for the Detroit automaker.

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