Detroit Fights Back: Ford Beats, GM Rebounds as Big Tech's AI Bill Comes Due

A tale of two earnings seasons
The AI trade cracked for a third straight week. Alphabet missed revenue on October 28, burned roughly $9 billion of cash, and shares fell nearly 13% on Thursday, its worst day ever, erasing about $482 billion. Amazon reported earnings of $1.89 versus $1.96 expected, with 2027 capex meaningfully more than roughly $220 billion. Intel guided Q4 well below estimates, and its stock plunged about 28% Friday, its steepest one-day drop in over 50 years. The Nasdaq 100 was down 2.6% by Friday midday, its lowest since early August, for a third straight weekly loss. Meanwhile, GM gained about 14% on the week, its biggest weekly rise since October 2025, and Ford rose about 5% after Wednesday's results.

Ford
A supplier problem halted F-150 production for nearly a week, and there was a recall of over 100,000 pickups, yet Ford beat expectations. Revenue was $49.53 billion, down 2% from $50.53 billion a year earlier, ahead of the $46.24 billion forecast and $49.08 billion expected. Adjusted EPS was 49 cents versus 40-41 cents forecast. Net income was $2.05 billion, or 50 cents, versus $2.45 billion a year ago, a divergence largely due to tax: a $630 million benefit last year versus a $97 million expense this year. Adjusted EBIT rose 3% to $2.66-2.7 billion, a 5.4% margin, while wholesales fell 9% to 1.05 million vehicles — more from fewer vehicles on mix and pricing. CEO Jim Farley said: "Ford delivered a strong quarter as we're entering a defining phase of the company's transformation."

Divisions and cost wave
Ford Blue earned $1.39 billion, down 10%. Ford Pro revenue rose 2%, while EBIT fell 16% to $1.665 billion. Model e lost $1.1 billion, 25% smaller than a year earlier, with revenue down 31% to $1.2 billion. Ford Credit pre-tax profit was $803 million, up 27%. Adjusted free cash flow was $4.7 billion, with $25.3 billion cash, $46.4 billion liquidity, and a 15-cent dividend payable December 1. Commodity costs were raised to nearly $2.5 billion from about $2 billion, reflecting Middle East conflict, copper, steel, fuel and chips. Adjusted free cash flow is expected at $6-7 billion, with capex of $9.5-10.5 billion. CFO Sherry House said 2027 core profitability should be roughly in line with 2026.

GM
GM's roughly 14% weekly gain followed two announcements. Its stock jumped 5.5% Tuesday after GM said it will move its listing to Nasdaq on November 17 and prepare Lansing Delta Township for hybrid production. Ford hybrid evidence: Maverick Hybrid sales were 27,793 units, up 59.6% year over year. Off-road vehicles were nearly a quarter of Ford US sales.

What to watch
Ford guidance: the low end of full-year adjusted EBIT was raised $500 million to $10.5 billion, with the top unchanged at $11 billion. The commodity wave is toward nearly $2.5 billion. On the calendar, Apple reports after close November 2, and Nvidia reports November 17, the same day as GM's Nasdaq move.

FAQ
Did Ford beat? Yes, 49c versus 40-41c, revenue $49.53 billion, and low-end guidance raised $500 million to $10.5 billion.
Why did net income fall? A tax swing, while adjusted EBIT rose 3% to about $2.7 billion.
How did GM do? About 14%, its biggest weekly rise since October 2025, with a 5.5% rise Tuesday on the Nasdaq listing on November 17 and Lansing hybrid preparation.
Why did tech fall while autos rose? Alphabet had its worst day ever and Intel fell about 28%, versus Ford and GM pricing, mix and spending discipline.
Ford cost warning? Nearly $2.5 billion, up from about $2 billion.

Read more on Zimbuck: https://zimbuck.com/pages/zimbucknews and join the discussion at https://zimbuck.com/groups/zimbuckmarketnews. Related reading: earlier stock earnings coverage in Company Earnings and the how-to-read-an-earnings-report guide in Company Earnings.

This article is market news and general information only, not financial advice.