Flash!  Ford Posts $Billion Profit

America's first big automaker was not its largest, but now it's staked out perhaps a better claim to fame.  Ford is now the only big American automaker to have made it this far without filing bankruptcy...and with a large, unexpected profit in the quarter just ended.  Do you think Ford can post a profit like this again without the benefit of Cash for Clunkers? Or was this a one-time windfall?

  On an adjusted basis, Ford reported a quarterly pretax profit of $1.1 billion, or 26 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $3 billion or $1.32. Ford beat the 20-cents per share adjusted loss it was forecast to report by an average of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
 
CNNMoney tallied Ford's positive third quarter results at "29 cents a share, compared to a loss of $161 million, or 7 cents a share on that basis a year earlier." 

They went on to note that "Ford (F, Fortune 500) also said it made money on its auto operations, and that it reported positive cash flow of $1.3 billion from its auto businesses.  The company had been burning through significant amounts of cash as it suffered from years of ongoing losses."

What impact do you think today's news is likely to have on mood of the markets overall?

[Views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of CompuServe, Netscape, any government, agency, or news organization.] 

Do you think Ford is out of the woods?

What impact do you think this is likely to have on Ford sales?

What do you think this means for the rest of America's struggling auto market?

Pioneering American automaker Henry Ford used to quip that prospective buyers of his motorcars could order them in any color they liked -- "as long as it's black!"

Does that take on refreshing new meaning following today's reports which put Ford "in the black" -- alone among America's automakers?

Being that Ford was able to refuse TARP funds their earnings/performance should not really shock anyone paying attention. The "pop" on their share price of ( I just looked) down to 6%ish shows that investors are yet to be convinced of a sustainable turn around.
I thing it has less to do with any "buy American" sentiment and more about Ford building the high quality vehicles which appeal to the masses. Compare the Chrysler 300 against the Ford Focus and take a guess which one is rolling off dealer lots.
I have danced away from buying Ford stock for a number of reasons, but that number is growing smaller.

(The views are those of the authors and are not those of a highly respected financial institution, the CIA, the Area 51 alliance, any internet provider, or the cousin of Ralph Nader.)