By Shawn Langlois
Ford Motor Co. (F) will hand in its first-quarter report Friday,
with Wall Street looking past the expected hefty losses for
evidence the auto maker can continue to survive on its own as
domestic rivals careen toward bankruptcy.
The anticipated red ink will mark the first look into Ford's
books since it reported its worst-ever annual loss last year of
$14.7 billion.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based company hasn't posted an annual profit
since 2005, though CEO Alan Mulally is looking for that to change
by 2011.
As for the first three months of the year, analysts polled by
FactSet Research are looking for a loss, on average, of $1.19 a
share, the worst first-quarter loss in more than 15 years.
Revenue is seen falling to $21.8 billion as customers, pinched
by the harsh recession, continue to steer clear of showrooms.
Despite the string of losses amid the auto industry's steepest
sales downturn in almost 30 years, investors have taken a liking to
Ford so far this year. In fact, the stock has almost doubled in
2009, while General Motors Corp. (GM), a component of the Dow Jones
Industrial Average, has been chopped in half.
Analysts are also warming up to the company's prospects for a
turnaround.
Ford shares jumped almost 13% Wednesday after Goldman Sachs
analyst Patrick Archambault told investors that now is the time to
buy ahead of an industry "sea change" that will benefit the
nation's second-biggest automobile maker.
He put a six-month price target on the stock of $6 and said that
Ford will eventually get a big boost in market share due to the
"diminished presence" of both GM and Chrysler following their
likely bankruptcies in the coming weeks.
"We do not foresee bankruptcy at Ford, which we believe has
sufficient liquidity to make it through to 2010 without additional
funding," Archambault said.
GM has until the end of next month to justify further funding
from the Obama administration, while Chrysler has until the end of
April to ink a deal with Fiat SpA (FIATY) that would keep the
company from being forced into bankruptcy.
-By Shawn Langlois, 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com