Failed investments in money-losing electric vehicles and a late-year disruption of aluminum supplies for F-Series pickups drove Ford Motor Co. to an $11.1 billion (€9.3 billion) net loss in the fourth quarter, resulting in the automaker’s worst financial performance since 2008.

Fourth-quarter revenue declined 5 % to $45 billion, and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes plunged by more than half to $1 billion.

For the full year, Ford lost $8.2 billion, largely due to EV write-downs and $2 billion in tariffs. The automaker’s 2025 tariff bill ended up roughly doubling its previous projection after the Trump administration made a late-year change to offsets.

Remaining solid

It was Ford’s third-worst performance ever and its third full-year loss in the past six years. Full-year adjusted earnings fell 34% to $6.8 billion, meaning the automaker’s UAW-represented hourly workers will receive profit-sharing checks of about $6,780, down from $10,200 last year.

Ford CFO Sherry House said the late-year tariff change cut adjusted earnings by about $900 million. Still, Ford posted record full-year revenue of $187.3 billion, up 1% from 2024, and executives said the company remains on a solid footing.

Excluding the tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed starting last April, Ford reduced costs by $1.5 billion, 50 percent more than it anticipated. Shares rose just over 1% in aftermarket trading immediately after Ford announced the results, then leveled off.

“Ford delivered a strong 2025 in a dynamic and often volatile environment,” CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “We improved our core business and execution, made significant progress in the areas of the business we control, lowering material and warranty costs, and making real progress on quality, and made difficult but critical strategic decisions that set us up for a stronger future.”

“Moving forward, we’ll continue building on our strong foundation to achieve our target of 8% adjusted EBIT margin by 2029,” he added.

No electric F-150 Lightning, no e-van anymore

In December, Ford warned of a $20 billion hit from revamping its EV manufacturing plans and canceling some models. Roughly $15.5 billion of the write-down came in the fourth quarter, with the remainder coming through 2027.

The move involved ending production of the F-150 Lightning as a full EV and canceling a planned electric van. The massive BlueOval City assembly plant Ford is building in Tennessee will make gasoline pick-ups instead of a next-generation electric truck.

Ford also dealt with fallout from an October fire at the aluminum supplier Novelis, which hampered production of F-Series pickups. Ford at the time estimated the incident would cost the company $2 billion but said it planned to make back half of that by boosting production in 2026. Another fire in November set back restoration efforts. Ford expects to get to full F-Series production again between May and September, House said, and that the fire will cost it $1 billion in 2026.

Tariffs cost $2 billion per year

House said Ford unexpectedly paid $2 billion in tariff costs last year after learning of a recent change in offsets that it could not claim in 2025. Those offsets will now take effect in 2026 but will be offset by higher-than-expected tariffs as Ford shifts its aluminum sourcing to compensate for the Novelis fire. All told, House said Ford again expects tariffs to shave $2 billion off its earnings in 2026.

Ford Pro is most profitable by far

For the full-year results, the Ford Pro commercial business unit made $6.8 billion on 10.3% margins. Ford Blue, the gasoline vehicle business unit, earned $3 billion on 3% margins. Model e, the EV business unit, lost $4.8 billion, slightly less than the $5.1 billion it lost in 2024. Despite leading the industry in recalls by a wide margin, Ford’s warranty costs decreased by about $500 million, House said.

2026 must be better

The automaker is targeting significant improvement in 2026, projecting adjusted earnings of $8 billion to $10 billion and adjusted free cash flow of $5 billion to $6 billion. Ford said capital expenditures this year will be $9.5 billion to $10.5 billion, including around $1.5 billion to ramp up Ford Energy, a new business that uses some of its battery production capacity for energy storage systems rather than vehicles.

The company expects to earn $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion from Ford Pro and $4 billion to $4.5 billion from Ford Blue in 2026, while incurring $4 billion to $4.5 billion in EV losses. Ford Credit is expected to contribute about $2.5 billion in earnings, the company said. Ford also expects to cut costs by about $1 billion this year.

“Overall, we enter the year with the right portfolio, the right strategy, and the discipline to execute,” Farley concluded with an optimistic note.