Ford Motor Company (F) Is Hitting on All Cylinders

It’s working: Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s pre-tax losses in Europe in the second quarter narrowed to $348 million, down from $462 million last quarter – despite the significant restructuring charges that are already having an effect. That led Ford to raise its guidance: The company had expected to lose $2 billion in Europe this year, but now says that losses should be comparable to last year’s, around $1.8 billion.

Ford remains very strong in its home market
Ford’s turnaround in North America has put it in a very strong position here, and now that turnaround is being used as a template for Ford’s overseas operations. But it’s worth noting that Ford’s earnings at home continue to be the key driver of the company’s profits: Ford earned $2.3 billion in North America before taxes, up $319 million from the second quarter of last year.

Ford’s stalwart F-150 and its Super Duty siblings are the company’s biggest profit generators in North America. Photo credit: Ford Motor Co.

Strong sales of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s much-improved lineup of cars, including the Focus, the C-Max hybrid, and the hot new Fusion have all been big contributors. But the biggest contributor, as always, has been Ford’s F-Series pickup line, which has benefited from an industrywide boom in full-sized pickup sales. Ford’s operating margin in North America was 10.4%, an outstanding number.

The upshot: a good quarter, and signs of better things to come
As Shanks emphasized to me – and he’s right – the story here is that Ford’s success in North America is continuing even as all of its overseas regions are making progress.

For Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) shareholders, it’s a great story: As the European turnaround continues and the Asian expansion starts to bear fruit, Ford stands to see significant increases in its overall profits over the next few years.

As those increases become more visible, Ford’s stock price, already up over 28% so far in 2013, seems likely to keep moving upward.

The article Ford Is Hitting on All Cylinders originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford. Follow him on Twitter at @jrosevear.The Motley Fool recommends Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford.

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