Ford raised its full-year profit outlook on Wednesday after the bell after reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, with F stock jumping 6% in after-hours trading before giving back some of those gains. The automaker said adjusted earnings and operating profit both easily topped Wall Street forecasts.
Ford said first-quarter automotive revenue rose to $39.82 billion from a consensus estimate of $38.48 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.66, far above the expected $0.19, while adjusted EBIT reached $3.5 billion versus an expected $1.26 billion. Chief Executive Jim Farley said the results and higher guidance reflect the momentum of the Ford+ plan.
The better-than-expected quarter came just days after Ford posted first-quarter U.S. sales of 457,315 vehicles, down 8.8% from a year earlier. F-Series truck sales fell 16% to 159,901 units, underscoring how much the company still depends on its pickup business even as it leans harder into services and a new EV strategy.
Ford said the quarter included a $1.3 billion one-time benefit tied to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, along with stronger product mix, net pricing and growth in services. It lifted its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion from a prior range of $8.0 billion to $10.0 billion.
The company also laid out the costs and offsets that will shape the rest of the year. Ford said the F-150 business will see a net $1 billion improvement from the Novelis recovery, while commodity headwinds should total about $2 billion and ongoing tariffs are expected to trim results by around $1 billion. It also plans to spend about $1 billion more on Model e as it ramps up its new Universal EV platform.
The guidance hike still leaves Ford navigating a familiar squeeze between near-term gains and longer-term pressure. The company said pickup production hurt by fires at the Novelis aluminum plant in upstate New York should normalize by year-end, but it also warned that rising materials costs will weigh in the second half. Ford reported $5.2 billion in warranty costs last year, according to auto data provider Autoline, a reminder that execution risks remain high even when the numbers beat forecasts.
Ford’s latest quarter adds another layer to a year already marked by major course correction. Last December, it reported a $19.5 billion charge tied to a pivot in its EV business, and the company has since shifted toward a smaller, cheaper EV lineup built around the Universal EV platform. Investors still have to wait for the full effect of those changes, because Ford said most of last year’s special EV-related charges will be recognized in the fourth quarter, with the balance landing in 2026 and 2027.
For now, the immediate story is that Ford has more room to breathe. The quarter was helped by pricing, mix and a temporary tariff benefit, but the rest of the year will depend on whether the company can hold margins while commodity costs, tariffs and EV spending all press in at once.