FORD is making money again.

[07ROUSHSTG3]

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=OBR&Date=20090723&ID=10169077&Symbol=F
just a couple more dollars a share away from me getting a new toy!


and in other news, GM and Chrysler are still broke mofos.

[Exitspeed]

Good to hear. I actually think GM will be in position in the not to distant future.

[BAD LS1]

In reality news, people STILL arent buying cars like they used... so how long lived will it be? lean and mean will only take you so far. I wonder when the gov agencies start filtering out all the old ford product which will be replaced by "goverment motors" product.

[Prince Valiant]

Here's the thing I don't get...we keep thinking "Wow...ford just has it's ducks in a row!", "They aren't nearly in as bad a shape a GM or chrysler...."


This isn't really true...ford is also in a precarious position, and one that isn't too much better than it's rivals.

The only reason we aren't talking about three gov't owned car companies wasn't necessarily because Ford had particularly good corporate structure...Ford was down to nearly 18 billion cash on hand, while burning 2.5 billion/month...IE, just over 6 months from insolvency. That they secured private loans years ago (they'd had NO chance of getting those loans last year, and wouldn't likely get them today either) seems to suggest that even in the absence of current economic difficulty, ford saw some painful days/restructuring ahead. While it could argued that that itself was good management, that it helps them now is simply fortuitous. Otherwise, they too probably would have ended up in bankruptcy, and we'd be calling them the "Fed Motor Car Company".

Ford actually should have had a loss for the quarter even...the debts that should have counted against them though have essentially been put off, much like paying one credit card with another or simply making a "minimum payment"...they'll eventually have to pay-up on the 2.8 billion that was wiped off the books this quarter.

Is that to say that the article isn't still good news? No...Ford has essentially gone through an aggressive restructuring that we might otherwise call a bankruptcy without the bankruptcy...they've slowed the cash burn by more than half to as much as even 25% of their old rate. Their revenue has increased greater than expected (no doubt due in part to the public confidence inspired by not taking fed money or declaring bankruptcy, again, both fortuitous imo). I have no doubt that profitability is coming...but I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves in believing it to be now.

fwiw, toyota posted it's first loss...however, much of the loss could be attributed to the drop in the dollar vs the yen.