Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter said the decision to suspend guidance was not a surprise given the tariff-related uncertainty. “Like Ford, we struggle to defend our forecast in such a volatile macro environment. We are cutting our estimates to reflect tariff-related headwinds, but frankly, we’re unsure if we’re cutting them by enough (or by too much),” Potter said in a client note.

Ford is the latest automaker to point to the steep costs of Trump’s back-and-forth campaign to reshape global trade routes. Trump has said the 25 percent tariffs imposed on imported vehicles and parts are needed to bring more production and jobs to the United States. Automakers have warned that broad, lasting tariffs will increase costs, jeopardize employment, and potentially increase new-car prices that are already nearing $50,000 on average.

Ford CEO Jim Farley acknowledged how difficult it is to predict the tariffs’ ultimate impact on costs, especially when the Trump administration is also renegotiating trade deals, including the agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. “It’s a pretty dynamic situation; I think this is all really new for all of us,” Farley said Monday during a call with analysts. “We should just all expect to be a little bit patient during this time to see how these policies kind of work out.” Last week, Farley said the company won’t increase the price of its vehicles until it sees how rivals respond to added tariff costs.

The $1.5 billion hit Ford now expects comes despite relief granted to automakers last week. Trump spared imports subject to the auto tariffs from paying additional levies targeting other goods, such as steel and aluminum. The White House also will phase in tariffs on auto parts over two years to give companies time to move production to the United States.

Ford said yesterday that it is looking for ways to build more parts in the United States. But Farley said Ford has let the White House know the cost these changes will have on its business. “These are huge numbers,” Farley said of the $2.5 billion gross tariff hit Ford is taking. “We’ve been very clear with the government about the flexibility we need.”

To blunt the effect of tariffs, Ford is using so-called bonded transportation to shield parts from levies as they cross international borders, among other actions, CFO Sherry House told reporters.

The White House actions announced last week were “really important steps forward,” House said on a call with reporters on Monday, noting that trade policy continues to be uncertain. Ford is also waiting to see if it can receive credit for the U.S. content in vehicles it imports from Mexico, she said.

Ford’s tariff exposure is smaller than that of its Detroit competitors because the Dearborn, Michigan–based automaker produces domestically 80 perecent of the cars it sells in the U.S. Last week, General Motors Co. slashed its profit outlook for the year and said its tariff exposure is as high as $5 billion. Then on Friday, GM cut jobs and production at a Canadian plant producing Chevrolet Silverado pickups as it moves production of those models to a plant in Indiana.

Ford has struggled with high warranty costs and other expenses, including losses on electric vehicles that it has said may reach $5.5 billion this year. The cost of launching redesigned versions of its big Expedition and Lincoln Navigator sport-utility vehicles in the first quarter also sapped profits. Ford’s first-quarter adjusted profit was 14 cents a share, better than the 4-cent average loss expected by analysts.

Ford Blue, the automaker’s unit that produces traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and gas-electric hybrids, saw EBIT plummet to $96 million, from $901 million a year earlier, as the cost to launch the Expedition and Navigator SUVs weighed on results. Still, that’s better than the $288 million loss forecast by Wall Street. Ford’s first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales fell 1.3 pecent.

Ford Pro, the automaker’s highly profitable commercial-vehicle business, posted EBIT of $1.3 billion, roughly in line with analyst expectations.

Model E, Ford’s electric vehicle unit, experienced a first-quarter loss before interest and taxes of $849 million, less than the $1.4 billion deficit analysts had predicted. Ford’s EV sales rose 11.5 percent in the first quarter but accounted for just 4.5 percent of the company’s overall deliveries.

————————————————————

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.