Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) were getting punished today as the automaker missed big with earnings in the quarter, although they beat expectations in revenue.
Revenue of course is largely irrelevant when the cost of sales is too high, which was the case in the fourth quarter for Ford, which included a $960 million charge for debt conversion offers which had been completed.
Rising expectations and an enamored financial media were largely the culprits behind the miss, as irrational exuberance started to be applied to the automaker.
Lewis Booth, Ford executive vice president and chief financial officer said, "The progress that we made improving our core Automotive business has allowed us to strengthen significantly the balance sheet in 2010, and this will remain a key area of focus for us in 2011. We continue to manage the business for long term profitable growth."
Earnings in the fourth quarter reached 30 cents a share, far below analysts' expectations of 48 cents a share. Revenue rose to $32.5 billion, beating consensus of $30.57 million.
Also part of the drama is the over-hyped attempt at making it appear the American economy is in some type healthy, sustainable recovery. The truth is, as the numbers for Ford show, is it continues to be extremely fragile, and consumers still must be wooed in order to loosen up their pocketbooks.
Ford was the only U.S. automaker not to accept government bailout funds.
Ford was trading at $16.70, dropping $2.09, or 11.12 percent, as of 11:25 AM EST.
how does a piece of shit blog like this make it to google news?
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