Ford Motor Company, to the surprise of many, turned a profit last quarter:
July 26 (Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S. automaker, surprised investors with its first quarterly profit in two years, helped by the sale of Aston Martin and reduced spending on pensions and warranties.
Ford earned $750 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with a loss of $317 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier. When the gain for Aston Martin and costs for job cuts are excluded, the profit was $258 million, or 13 cents, versus the average estimate of a 37-cent loss in a Bloomberg survey of 13 analysts.
“Everything looks better; no one region carried the company,” said Dan Poole, who helps manage $31 billion, including Ford shares, at National City Bank in Cleveland. “There’s a lot of positive news here for investors.”
Expect this to be downplayed. IIRC union negotiations are under way right now.
