Cars and Drivers

Is There Any Way Ford and GM Can Catch Up to Tesla?

Chris Lange

Published: February 4, 2020 11:15 am

Last Updated: February 4, 2020 11:16 am

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has dominated the news flow with its incredible run, but now we will be getting a bigger picture of the auto industry when rivals Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) report their most recent quarterly results.

Last week, Tesla reported impressive results, feeding fuel to the fire of its rally over the past six months. While Tesla has gone from a cult stock to a market darling in this time, Ford and GM largely have been nonfactors, with their stocks down 3% and 15% respectively. On the other hand, Tesla shares are up 233% in this time.

One has to wonder if positive earnings for Ford or GM will give any credence to these auto manufacturers and get them back in the game.

Ford is expected to report its fourth-quarter financial results after the markets close on Tuesday. Analysts are calling for $0.15 in earnings per share (EPS) and $36.49 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $0.30 in EPS and $38.72 billion in revenue.

Here’s what a couple of analysts said about Ford ahead of the report:

• JPMorgan has a Neutral rating and a $10 price target.
• Wolfe Research rates it at Outperform with a $12 target.
• Benchmark has a Hold rating.
• Evercore ISI has an Underperform rating.
• Credit Suisse has an Outperform rating.

GM is scheduled to release its results before the markets open on Wednesday. The consensus estimates are $0.01 in EPS and $31.04 billion in revenue. In the fourth quarter of last year, the company reported $1.43 in EPS and $38.4 billion in revenue.

A few analysts have made calls on GM ahead of the report:

• Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating with a $43 price target.
• Credit Suisse has a Buy rating and a $47 price target.
• Barclays rates it a Buy with a $44 target price.
• RBC’s Buy rating comes with a $49 price target.
• Benchmark has a Buy rating and a $49 price target.

Ford stock traded up about 2% at $9.16 a share on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $8.16 to $10.56. The consensus price target is $10.09.

GM stock was up about 3% to $34.65. The 52-week range is $32.97 to $41.90, and the consensus price target is $47.76.