Ford Keeps Disappointing Owners, Investors, and Everyone Else (F Stock)

By Brad Faye Published Oct 23, 11:29AM EDT

Key Points

Record Recall Volume: So far this year, Ford Motor Company has faced over 100 recalls, impacting nearly eight million vehicles – a figure equal to roughly four years of its annual production output.
Leadership and Shareholder Concerns: Despite long-term leadership under Bill Ford and multiple CEO changes, the company’s stock price has remained flat for five years, raising investor concerns about accountability and strategic direction.
Quality vs. Perception Gap: While some analysts praise Ford’s domestic manufacturing strength, critics argue that poor product quality, management inefficiencies, and recurring recalls undermine long-term brand value and investor confidence.

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Ford Keeps Disappointing Owners, Investors, and Everyone Else (F Stock) — © 24/7 Wall St.

Summary:

So far this year, Ford Motor Company has faced over 100 recalls, a figure equal to roughly four years of its annual production output. This has affected nearly eight million vehicle which is especially staggering when compared to the number of vehicles Ford produces annually.

Ford’s stock price has remained stagnant for the past five years, underperforming against broader market benchmarks like the S&P 500. Many have been critical of the company’s leadership, noting that Bill Ford has remained executive chairman since 1999 despite repeated management turnovers.

Some analysts, including well-known financial commentators, still view Ford favorably due to its strong U.S. manufacturing footprint. But does its domestic production offset poor money management and all of the other rising concerns? There are plenty of reasons to remain skeptical as well as reasons to question at what point Ford really feels the need to right the ship.

Transcript:

Doug McIntyre: Lee, we’ve got another recall from the Ford Motor Company.

Lee Jackson: How is that even possible?

McIntyre: I tried to count and it could be off by one or two, but I think this is 107 for the year. 107 recalls for the Ford Motor Company.

Jackson: That’s a lot.

Douglas: It’s a lot. As a matter of fact, it’s probably close to any typical two years. Ford makes about two million new cars a year. The total of these recalls are now in the neighborhood of eight million. So, you make two million cars a year, and your total recalls in the same year are for about eight million. Now I don’t want the four people to call me and be upset ’cause this math may not be exactly right. But that means that you’ve recalled four years worth of assembled cars if you just add ’em all up you know and dump ’em. We do this a lot, but let’s look at this for a second. Ford stock price is basically unmoved in five years.

Jackson: Unmoved since like 2022.

McIntyre: Even further, but, let’s just say five, it’s unmoved. I’ve talked to the PR people. They say, well, you know, we pay a dividend and, okay, thanks. I, if, if I just put my money into the S&P 500 basket. know, I would’ve doubled it and I stuck with you guys. The other thing that’s amazing to me is, is that the same two people run the company, Bill Ford has been the chairman or executive chairman since 1999. Bill Ford has gone through a number of CEOs. He’s very good at it. He’s, uh, you know. For him. They’re, I think, like, sort of like tissues. They come and go, when he is done with one, he probably pays good severance. The reason I want that job is I wanna be in charge of that many recalls. I want my, my obituary to read Douglas A. McIntyre, former CEO of Ford and record holder, world record holder in history of running the car with the most company, with the most car recalls in the year. That’s what I want it to say. I mean, listen, these two guys last year, made $22 million.

Jackson: That’s a lot.

McIntyre: Bill Ford is holder of the Class B shares. So he’s well taken care of. I’m gonna close by saying this, I do not see how it’s possible that the Ford family keeps him in there. He’s their representative. He’s there to make the Ford family money, period. He’s not there to do anything for the other shareholders, nor does he. In the case of the other shareholders, we can’t throw him out. But if I were a member of the Ford family, I’d just say. “Are you out of your mind? We’ve let you do this for 26 years.”

Jackson: Yeah. You know, it’s interesting, I read this thing recently and lemme see if I have it over there. Your, uh, your friend Cramer likes Ford stock. I thought this was interesting. Let’s see if I can’t find it. He thinks Ford is good because it has the most production in the United States.

McIntyre: I’m gonna say from a tariff standpoint, on a one to five scale paying tariffs, they’re probably a nine. Let’s do one to 10. One to 10. Money management, minus two, quality of products, minus 16. You know, nice cars, reliable minus 75. So Cramer, uh, listen, I’ve known Cramer. We’ve known each other since we were 20, 50 years, and he’s not perfect. I’m gonna tell all of you now. He’s not perfect. He misses a lot.

Jackson: Yeah, but I thought that was interesting that he threw that out.

McIntyre: There was too much said about AI for the week, so he had to find something else.