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.
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%.
