$20 billion write-off. Did Ford destroy its future by “investing billions based on assumptions that vanished”?

Photo above - is this what will save Ford? The company promises to turn this tiny 3-cylinder trucklet into a hybrid by adding a battery and electric motor. But the Bronco Sport already costs $32,000 before hybridization.

Just before midnight, as 2025 ended, Ford wrote off $20 billion in losses for its cornucopia of failed EV programs. Cancelled plants, cancelled vehicles, cancelled battery production, termination of workers. Ford used an accounting entry to write off $20 billion while the whole company is only worth $50 billion (Yahoo estimate). Can a company even survive something like this? We’re about to find out.

Shares of Ford stock have NOT fallen through the floor, despite having zero earnings. It’s only down 50% from their high of $26 a share in 2022. This is probably because Ford continues to pay out a 4.7% dividend, despite having zero profits (and paying zero taxes). Don’t ask where that dividend money is coming from, or if it’s sustainable.

Ford’s CEO Jim Farley (former Toyota exec) has not been fired. He's been on the job since 2020, You probably can’t blame him for spinning a rosy prediction of endless profits fueled by Obama/Biden era EV subsidies for car buyers, new assembly lines, and public charging stations. Who WOULD’T like to get on THAT gravy train?

None of Ford’s board members have been fired either. In 2024 they added a new one – Adriana Cisnersos – an expert in “sustainability practices”. Adriana is the president of her own company (Cisneros Group), a private, family-owned business founded by her grandfather a century ago in Venezuela (It now resides in Coral Gables, Florida). Cisneros Group has several side hustles, but none apparently related to car manufacturing or EV tech.

Jim Farley is NOT the top guy at Ford. That would be William Clay Ford, Jr. The great grandson of founder Henry Ford. He probably was instrumental in green-lighting the current Jim Farley era. “Bill" Ford does have one important attribute as a kingmaker, however. He inherited 35 million shares of stock from his ancestors. That may sound like a lot, but it’s actually less than 1% of the total shares. Bill Ford has not been replaced either.

Ford Motor Company’s new survival plan is built on higher sticker prices and greater numbers of Ford 150 pickups. Which might work. This is a crazy world. Nobody is popping the hood on their Tesla at Home Depot on Saturday morning to show the cocoanut sized washing machine motor inside. And Ford will pivot to hybrids. Just put 1 KwH micro-sized lithium battery in every gasoline vehicle, and add regenerative braking. That’s also Toyota’s master plan. Toyota stock shares are now at $250 a share, up from $150. Toyota Motor Company is valued at $300 billion – 6 times as much Ford.

Will Trump era financial manipulation – tariffs on foreign made cars – succeed where EV tax rebates and outright corporate grants failed? Ford’s UAW assembly line workers and shareholders are certainly hoping so. There are going to be a LOT of unhappy people if this doesn’t work out.

I'm just sayin' . . .

Ford scraps EV flagship after biggest loss since 2009—$19.5B hit triggers 'existential threat'

$19.5B EV loss forces Ford to fire hundreds as F-150 Lightning line shuts down overnight

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ford-scraps-ev-flagship-after-biggest-loss-since-2009-19-5b-hit-triggers-existential-threat/ss-AA1Xr0W5?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=69a7ff6874f84bb7895eac6ca8484d78&ei=23#image=11

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/19-5b-ev-loss-forces-ford-to-fire-hundreds-as-f-150-lightning-line-shuts-down-overnight/ar-AA1TrPlO