NEW YORK, July 5, 2026, 15:01 (EDT)
- Ford finished the holiday week at $13.36, dropping 5.5% since June 26. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% for the same week.
- Ford’s U.S. sales dropped 10.3% in the second quarter, with F-Series inventory at the end of June almost equal to Q2 F-Series sales. Pricing in the second half is now the key topic.
- U.S. markets stayed shut July 3 for Independence Day observed and open again Monday. Ford delivers Q2 numbers July 28.
Ford Motor Company NYSE:F heads into the week with more focus on inventories than the raw sales figures suggest. Shares slid every day during the shortened U.S. week and finished Thursday at $13.36, off 5.5% since June 26. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust NYSEARCA:SPY gained 2.2% over the same stretch by this reporter’s check of historical closes. S&P 500 was up 1.8% for the week, per AP market data. U.S. exchanges were shut Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
| Security | June 26 close | July 2 close | Shortened-week move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Company NYSE:F | $14.13 | $13.36 | -5.5% |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust NYSEARCA:SPY | $728.99 | $744.78 | +2.2% |
Another figure worth watching is Ford’s gross stock. The company reported 190,400 F-Series units in gross stock at the end of June, while it sold 197,900 F-Series trucks in the second quarter. Overall, Ford had 471,000 vehicles in gross stock, which comes out to around 86% of Q2 sales. This isn’t a demand signal. The real question for the second half is whether Ford can move its truck and SUV inventories without heavy discounts.
| Ford line | Q2 2026 sales | June gross stock | Gross stock / Q2 sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| F-Series | 197,900 | 190,400 | 96% |
| Ford trucks | 318,813 | 288,800 | 91% |
| Total SUVs | 215,736 | 170,400 | 79% |
| Total vehicles | 549,200 | 471,000 | 86% |
Ford reported a 10% drop in U.S. second-quarter sales to 549,200 vehicles. The company blamed the decline on model phase-outs and a sharp 69% slide in daily rental sales. Ford said sales would have been up about 0.5% if the discontinued models and lower rental sales were excluded. Andrew Frick, who runs Ford Blue and Model e, said Ford was “gaining retail market share last month” and noted F-Series extended its lead over competitors. Q4
The mix question matters since the broader U.S. auto sector wasn’t soft. Reuters data from filings showed listed automakers’ U.S. light-vehicle sales grew 0.8% in Q2. Ford dropped 10.3%. General Motors Company NYSE:GM slipped 4.2%, and Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) was up 1.1%.
| Automaker | Q2 2026 U.S. sales | Q2 2025 U.S. sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors Company NYSE:GM | 714,896 | 746,588 | -4.2% |
| Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) | 673,971 | 666,330 | +1.1% |
| Ford Motor Company NYSE:F | 549,200 | 612,095 | -10.3% |
| Reported total | 3,796,671 | 3,765,188 | +0.8% |
Investors are drawing a line. A thinner unit base could work if Ford has cut out low-margin rental deals and swapped aging models for better-margin SUVs, trucks, and Ford Pro sales. But if dealers need to crank up discounts just to keep units moving before earnings, that’s another issue. Ford’s own numbers suggest EVs weren’t the only problem: electric vehicle sales dropped 40.7%, while combustion models also slipped 8.1% in the quarter.
| Ford propulsion mix | Q2 2026 sales | Q2 2025 sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric vehicles | 9,746 | 16,438 | -40.7% |
| Hybrid vehicles | 53,163 | 66,448 | -20.0% |
| Internal combustion | 486,291 | 529,209 | -8.1% |
| Total vehicles | 549,200 | 612,095 | -10.3% |
Traders say the backdrop makes it tough to brush off. Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive, told Reuters that the U.S. new-vehicle market was “shrugging off the Iran war” and higher oil and fuel prices. Hybrids stayed in demand. Reuters, citing Omdia, said hybrid sales jumped 19% in the first half. Reuters
GM had a similar tone on trucks and SUVs. Duncan Aldred, GM’s North America president, said demand was “resilient, especially for our trucks and SUVs,” after GM posted a Q2 sales drop. That keeps pressure on Ford’s F-Series restocking, since GM’s pickup and SUV results are the main comparison. GM News
Tesla Inc NASDAQ:TSLA turned out a split picture. The company delivered 480,126 vehicles in Q2 and pushed inventory lower as it delivered more cars than it made. Still, shares dropped about 7% on July 2, after climbing ahead of the numbers. Seth Goldstein, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, told Reuters that Europe was “the key driver for Tesla right now,” and said U.S. sales looked softer. Reuters
Ford holders aren’t watching for new monthly sales this week. The focus is on whether Thursday’s drop was just profit-taking or investors sending a message about margins and the need for proof before betting on a rebound later this year. Ford reported F-Series sales of 357,801 in the first half, which was over 80,000 ahead of Chevrolet Silverado. Still, F-Series sales were down 13.3% from last year in the same period.
Ford and Ford Motor Credit are set to post Q2 results at 4:05 p.m. ET July 28. Management will hold a call at 5 p.m. with CEO Jim Farley, CFO Sherry House and other top execs.
Related articles: NYSE:F
