A Ford logo on a Ford F-150 pickup truck for sale in Encinitas, California, U.S. Oct. 20, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
DETROIT – Ford Motor beat Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings expectations but lowered its 2025 guidance due to impacts of a supplier fire, which is disrupting production of its highly profitable large trucks and SUVs.
The Detroit automaker said the fire last month at a New York plant for aluminum supplier Novelis is expected to cost it between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, but it expects to mitigate much of that this year and next by increasing manufacturing of the impacted vehicles once supplies are more available.
Ford stock fell about 4% in extended trading Thursday. The stock is up 24% so far this year, as of Thursday’s close.
Ford said the total cost of the fire on its business is expected to be less than $1 billion by next year, as the company announced plans Thursday to “significantly increase” its U.S. pickup truck production. That includes adding 1,000 workers to plants that produce the vehicles in Michigan and Kentucky in 2026. The automaker expects the additional production to recoup 50,000 units of truck production in 2026.
“We are working intensively with Novelis and others to source aluminum that can be processed in the cold rolling section of the plant that remains operational while also working to restore overall plant production. We have made substantial progress in a short time to minimize the impact in 2025 and recover production in 2026,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.
Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra said the fire occurred in one of three main parts of the plant — a hot mill — with the non-impacted areas continuing to supply parts to the automaker. The impacted part of the plant is expected to restart in late November or early December, Galhotra said.
Ford’s new 2025 guidance now includes adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $6 billion to $6.5 billion, down from $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion as of July; adjusted free cash flow of $2 billion to $3 billion, down from $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion, and capital spending of roughly $9 billion, which remains the same.
Ford CFO Sherry House said without the supplier fire, the company was planning to raise its 2025 guidance to more than $8 billion in adjusted EBIT rather than cutting it.
Here’s what Wall Street expects, based on average analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 45 cents adjusted vs. 36 cents expected
- Automotive revenue: $47.19 billion vs. $43.08 billion expected
Ford said there was no material impact to third-quarter results due to the fire, but that it will impact its fourth-quarter results.
The automaker got a boost as it said it expects a smaller tariff impact following changes Friday by the Trump administration that included extending a tariff offset worth 3.75% of the value of American-made vehicles.
Ford lowered its expected tariff costs by $1 billion, to roughly $2 billion, half of which the automaker expects to offset through other actions.
The company’s third-quarter revenue, including its financial arm, was $50.5 billion, a quarterly record and 9% increase from the same time a year ago. Its net income during the quarter was $2.4 billion, up from $900 million a year earlier, and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were level at $2.6 billion. Both included adverse net tariff-related impact of $700 million during the third quarter.
Adjusted earnings exclude one-time or special items, some interest and taxes as well as other financials not considered “core” to the company’s operations.
“Our performance in the quarter show that the Ford+ plan is delivering consistent improvement. Our underlying business becomes stronger, more efficient, more agile and increasingly durable,” House told media Thursday.
The Ford+ plan is a turnaround and cost-improvement plan under Farley, who started leading the automaker more than five years ago. The company said it remains on track to cut $1 billion in costs this year as part of the plan.
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