Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is set to hold its first investor day under CEO Jim Farley tomorrow. The automaker’s stock price has roughly doubled since he took over the reins on Oct. 1, including a more than 12% increase just last week after the debut of the F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
Q1 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Ford to hold investor day on Wednesday
Farley has said he will provide more details on his plans for Ford, calling it his team's "coming-out party." He noted that the automaker has had some good quarters but added that the big test would be what their big plan is for the company and how it will "add value."
According to CNBC, Wall Street criticized Farley's predecessor, Jim Hackett, for not providing details on his turnaround plan and having an unclear vision to fix the automaker's operations. Farley will have to provide many details to please investors.
RBC analyst Joseph Spak said in a recent note that since Farley took the helm, Ford has promised to be more transparent and release measurable key performance indicators so that investors can track its execution and progress. At the investor day, he expects the automaker to release those details and financial targets.
What will the financial targets look like?
Investors will also want to see a clear path for Ford to reach an adjusted profit margin of 8% and more details about the automaker's plans for autonomous and electric vehicles. The plan is for a 10% margin in North America and 6% in Europe. Both Hackett and his predecessor, Mark Fields, promised an 8% adjusted profit margin for 2020, but that never happened.
Before the pandemic struck, Ford's adjusted profit margin stood at 4.1% in 2019 and then 2.2% in 2020. Then due to the ongoing chip shortage, supply and demand have been unbalanced, raising the automaker's margin to 13.3% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, General Motors had an adjusted profit margin of 6.1% in 2019, 7.9% last year and 13.6% in the first quarter.
Electric and autonomous vehicles
After successfully introducing the all-electric Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning, investors are wondering what to expect next. Some want to know whether there will be an electric Ford Bronco. The automaker is trailing both Tesla and GM in terms of battery supply and its upcoming EV line-up.
Farley has said they won't electrify every vehicle in their line-up, but they will focus on where they are "outstanding" and electrify their "most iconic vehicles." Earlier this year, the automaker revealed plans to boost its EV investments to $22 billion through 2025. As part of that increased investment, Ford said it would spend $7 billion on autonomous vehicles through 2025.
Ford is part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks 60 of the largest publicly traded companies managed by their founders or their founders' families.
