Last night, financial traders received an update from Ford (NYSE:F) on its sales performance for the month of September. Ford stock didn’t move much in early-session trading today, but don’t get the wrong idea here. There are crucially important data points in the report. It seems Ford’s total vehicle sales are down on a year-over-year (YOY) basis, but electric vehicle (EV) sales are up.
As you may recall, last month Ford issued a warning about the company’s third-quarter earnings data. Specifically, it would be negatively impacted by high supplier costs as well as shortages of parts.
Fast-forward to Oct. 4, and Ford released an update for September with some good news and some not-so-good news. We can start with the good news first: In September, Ford’s EV sales nearly tripled, soaring 197% YOY to 4,691.
Another data point to celebrate is that Ford’s retail orders for 2023-model-year vehicles increased 244% compared to 2023-model-year vehicles, totaling 197,000 orders for the newer vehicles.
Ford Stock Traders Weigh the Bad News with the Good
However, not all of the news is positive. As it turns out, Ford’s September total vehicle sales dropped 9% YOY. That’s a steep decline, and it’s probably due to a shortage of automotive parts, which reduces the number of vehicles Ford can deliver.
For example, Ford recently had difficulty sourcing some nameplates and blue oval badges for its vehicles. These may just be cosmetic items, but they’re necessary for Ford’s latest vehicle models to ship out.
In response to all of this, Ford stock slid 1% to 2% during the first hour of trading today. The stock market was down overall, though, so the share-price move didn’t seem excessive.
Andrew Fick, Ford’s vice president of sales, distribution and trucks, accentuated the positive aspects of the September update. He said, “Demand remains strong with new retail orders rapidly expanding.” Still, Fick’s optimism wasn’t enough to prevent some of Ford’s investors from backing up the truck and unloading a few shares.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
