Sad news for Ford (NYSE:F) fans today, as its delivery numbers came out. It lost a heartbreaker to General Motors (NYSE:GM), but it still turned in a real bell-ringer of a quarter. Sales were up substantially, and Ford gave a performance to be proud of. Despite this, Ford stock turned down fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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Ford sold an impressive 475,906 vehicles in the quarter. Over half of those were either trucks or SUVs, two market brands Ford has become well-known for over the years. Roughly 254,000 vans and trucks were sold, up 19.6% against the same time a year prior. The Bronco brand proved a popular draw, as did the larger, three-row SUVs. Mustang sales were up 5.2% in the first quarter, and the Ford Explorer gained 35.9% to be the leading three-row midsize SUV in the U.S.
Ford’s electric vehicle sales, however, were a mixed bright spot. On the bright side, sales of electric vehicles at Ford rose over 40% against the same time last year. However, on the downside, the gains weren’t enough to beat GM’s first-quarter 2023 electric vehicle sales. Now, Ford is number two in United States electric vehicle sales. Not behind Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), interestingly, but behind GM. Further, there’s some evidence that electric vehicle sales cannibalized Ford’s hybrid sales, as they fell 4.1%.
This incredible performance isn’t particularly impressive to Wall Street, though, as analyst consensus currently calls Ford stock a Hold. At four Buy recommendations, seven Holds, and three Sells, it’s clearly a split decision. Further, with an average price target of $13.46, Ford stock can only offer a modest upside potential of 6.87%.
