Ford Motor Co.
reported a strong profit for 2021 and issued an upbeat forecast for this year, the latest sign that the auto industry could return to a degree of stability after two years of pandemic-related disruptions.
Still, the auto maker’s shares were down nearly 4% in Thursday aftermarket trading, following fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Ford Chief Financial Officer
John Lawler
said analysts likely expected higher output for the quarter, but the company was constrained by the computer-chip shortage and other challenges linked to the Covid-19 crisis.
For this year, Ford said it expects global vehicle deliveries to increase by a range of 10% to 15%. Additionally, it forecasts pretax profit to rise 15% to 25% to a range of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion…
