Ford Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Ford (NYSE: F  ) reported earnings on Feb. 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Ford beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew. Non-GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly. GAAP earnings per share contracted significantly.

Gross margins were steady, operating margins contracted, net margins contracted.

Revenue details
Ford reported revenue of $34.50 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $32.90 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $34.58 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.31. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.25 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.31 for Q4 were 55% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.20 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.40 for Q4 were 88% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.37 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 11.9%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.5%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.4%, 3,500 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $33.72 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.40.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $133.83 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.42.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 9,696 members out of 12,097 rating the stock outperform, and 2,401 members rating it underperform. Among 1,943 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,564 give Ford a green thumbs-up, and 379 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ford is outperform, with an average price target of $14.66.

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