Ford Motor (F) Set To Report Q4 Earnings: What's In Store?

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2017 results on Jan 24, after market close.

Last quarter, Ford beat estimates by 30.3%. The automaker managed to beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average positive surprise of 16.5%.

The long-term earnings per share growth (three-five years) for the company are currently pegged at 10.7%.

In the past year, shares of Ford have underperformed the industry it belongs to. Over this time period, shares of the company have returned 1.3% compared with the industry’s growth 19.8%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.

Factors Influencing This Quarter

Ford has come up with preliminary results for 2017 and guidance for 2018. The company has announced earnings per share of $1.95 for 2017, a rise of 80 cents from 2016. Also, the company has announced 2017 adjusted earnings per share of $1.78, up 2 cents from 2016.

However, for 2018, the company expects adjusted EPS to be in the range of $1.45-$1.70. Rise in commodity prices and adverse effect of exchange rate can be attributed to this unfavorable outlook.

The company also expects earnings of Ford Credit for 2018 to decrease because of higher interest rates. Prices of a few metals such as aluminum and steel are adversely affecting the company.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show an earnings beat for Ford this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below.

Zacks ESP: Ford’s Earnings ESP is -1.31% because the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 43 cents and 44 cents, respectively.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Ford carries a Zacks Rank #2.

We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few other stocks in the auto industry you may consider as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

Visteon Corp. (NASDAQ:VC) has an earnings ESP of +3.81% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2017 financial results on Feb 22. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE:GPC) has an earnings ESP of +4.83% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2017 financial results on Feb 20.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE:F) has an earnings ESP of +18.80% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2017 financial results on Jan 25.

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