New York, May 22, 2026, 08:01 EDT
- Ford ended Thursday at $13.67, gaining 3.4%. The stock was flat ahead of the bell at 8:00 a.m. EDT.
- Ford Energy shares got a new look after the company signed a five-year battery-storage deal with EDF power solutions.
- U.S. stocks looked to open for a regular session on Friday. Markets are closed Monday for Memorial Day.
Ford Motor Co shares stuck with Thursday’s gains early Friday, as investors looked at the automaker’s new energy-storage move for signs the stock’s choppy ride in May will continue. The stock finished at $13.67 on Thursday, up 3.4%. Premarket trading was flat in the lighter session before the NYSE opens.
Ford’s rally isn’t just running on pickups, pricing, and cost controls anymore. Now, the focus is on whether Ford Energy can make something out of unused EV battery capacity by tapping into power demand from data centers, utilities, and big industrial clients.
Stocks had support from the broader market. U.S. stock futures traded up before the holiday. Reuters said the Dow finished Thursday at a record. The S&P 500 was still set for its eighth weekly rise in a row. U.S. stock markets remain closed Monday for Memorial Day.
NYSE will be open for regular hours Friday, with the main trading session from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Memorial Day, which lands on Monday, May 25, 2026, is marked as a stock-market holiday. Over in fixed income, SIFMA is recommending a 2:00 p.m. early close for the U.S. bond market on Friday.
Ford jumped further than General Motors and Tesla on Thursday. MarketWatch said GM finished the session up 1.41%, while Tesla gained 0.14%. Ford’s trading volume was strong at around 72.3 million shares, topping its 50-day average.
Ford Energy has signed a five-year framework with EDF power solutions North America, the company said. EDF has the option each year to buy up to 4 gigawatt-hours of Ford Energy’s DC Block battery energy storage systems, or BESS, which are large batteries used by grids, data centers and industrial firms. The total commitment could reach 20 GWh. First deliveries are set for 2028.
Lisa Drake, president of Ford Energy, said the EDF deal shows there’s demand for a supplier with “industrial-scale manufacturing discipline” and “full lifecycle accountability.” Tristan Grimbert, chief executive of EDF power solutions North America, said supply-chain reliability and product quality are “paramount.” Nasdaq
Ford shares jumped 13% on May 13, the biggest one-day rise in nearly six years. The move came after Morgan Stanley analysts flagged Ford’s energy-storage business, calling the carmaker’s tie-up with CATL battery technology an “underappreciated strategic competitive advantage.” Investors were already picking up the story earlier. Reuters
Ford is still in the picture. In April, the automaker raised its full-year adjusted EBIT outlook to $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion. EBIT stands for earnings before interest and taxes, a usual profit metric before debt and tax charges. Ford reported first-quarter adjusted EBIT at $3.5 billion with revenue at $43.3 billion.
Chief Executive Jim Farley said the quarter showed “momentum of the Ford+ plan.” Chief Financial Officer Sherry House said the company’s path to higher margins is “clear,” citing cost cuts, software and services revenue, and moves to improve EV performance. Ford Shareholder
Ford Pro, the unit focused on commercial vehicles and services, is still driving profit with $1.7 billion in EBIT for the first quarter. Ford Blue, Ford’s gas and hybrid division, posted $1.9 billion EBIT. Losses continued for the Model e electric vehicle group, which reported a $777 million loss.
Downside risks still hang over Ford. The company’s own forecast doesn’t factor in a prolonged Middle East conflict or a big U.S. slump, and it already bakes in roughly $2 billion of commodity headwinds, $1 billion in tariffs, plus another big loss year for Model e. If the auto market cools off, aluminum prices go up, or Ford Energy struggles to deliver earnings, the stock could lose steam.
Ford isn’t trading like just another cheap Detroit carmaker right now. Traders are giving it credit, as long as risk appetite holds up and new-energy orders look solid. It raises the stakes if anything misses.
