Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) stock is trading around $13.67 on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, as investors digest a sweeping strategic pivot that’s reshaping Ford’s electric-vehicle roadmap, capital spending priorities, and longer-term earnings narrative.
This week’s headlines aren’t the usual “new trim level” kind of news. They’re the “rip up the blueprint and redraw it” kind—anchored by a $19.5 billion EV-related charge, the cancellation of a major battery supply deal with LG Energy Solution, and a new push into battery storage for data centers as AI-driven power demand accelerates. [1]
Below is what’s moving Ford stock today, what Wall Street is forecasting next, and what risks (and opportunities) could matter most into 2026.
Why Ford stock is in focus on Dec. 17, 2025
Two storylines are dominating the Ford tape:
- Ford is pulling back from large, pure battery-electric vehicle (BEV) programs and shifting toward hybrids and extended-range EVs (EREVs)—a change tied to weaker EV demand and a tougher U.S. policy backdrop. [2]
- Ford is redeploying battery capacity and investment toward energy storage, aiming to serve data centers and commercial energy customers—an attempt to turn “EV overbuild” into a new revenue engine. [3]
The market’s reaction has been notably mixed-but-not-panicked: huge charges are typically bearish, but investors also tend to reward credible “stop the bleeding” moves—especially when they come with guidance support.
Ford cancels $6.5 billion LG Energy battery deal
On Dec. 17, Reuters reported that LG Energy Solution said Ford terminated an EV battery-supply deal worth about 9.6 trillion won (roughly $6.5 billion). The contracts were tied to supplying batteries for Ford in Europe, with supply slated to begin in 2026 and 2027. [4]
The termination, according to the report, followed Ford’s notice after it decided to halt production of some EV models, citing policy changes and shifting demand expectations. [5]
For Ford stock investors, this matters less as a one-off contract story and more as confirmation: Ford’s EV pullback is now flowing through the supply chain in tangible, headline-sized decisions.
The $19.5 billion EV charge: what it includes (and what it means)
Ford’s EV reset comes with a massive accounting and restructuring hit: about $19.5 billion in charges tied to EV investments and program changes. [6]
Reuters broke down the components like this:
- ~$8.5 billion linked to canceling planned EV models
- ~$6.0 billion tied to dissolving a battery joint venture with South Korea’s SK On
- ~$5.0 billion categorized as additional “program-related expenses” [7]
Critically, not all charges are cash. Reuters and Investopedia both highlighted that Ford expects around $5.5 billion of the charges to impact cash, incurred next year into 2027. [8]
The strategic message behind the write-down
Ford is effectively acknowledging that the original BEV investment path—built for a faster EV adoption curve—no longer clears return hurdles under today’s demand and regulatory realities. That is painful. It can also be rational, if it prevents more years of losses.
Reuters noted Ford’s EV operations have been losing money, and that cutting exposure to money-losing programs could improve the bottom line over coming quarters; Ford executives have said the EV business should become profitable by 2029. [9]
The EV demand shock: tax credits, sales declines, and the F-150 Lightning
A major driver behind Ford’s pivot is the demand environment. Reuters reported that U.S. EV sales fell sharply after the end of a long-running incentive: a $7,500 consumer EV tax credit expired on September 30, 2025, and U.S. EV sales fell about 40% in November. [10]
Ford’s flagship electric truck has also struggled to meet early hype:
- Reuters reported Ford sold 25,583 F-150 Lightning trucks through November 2025, down ~10% from the prior-year period. [11]
AutoWeek added that Ford is discontinuing the all-electric Lightning, with production having already stopped in October, and that Ford plans to offer a series-hybrid/EREV-style F-150 in the future—keeping electric drive while using a gas engine as a generator for extended range. [12]
This is the core bet: customers still want electrified benefits, but many appear to want them without full BEV pricing, charging friction, or range anxiety—at least in the truck segment.
Ford’s new play: battery storage for AI data centers
One of the most market-moving “what now?” answers is Ford’s push into stationary battery energy storage—positioned as a way to monetize battery capacity and ride the wave of AI-driven electricity demand.
Business Insider reported Ford is repurposing an EV battery factory in Kentucky to build energy storage systems for AI data centers and energy infrastructure, and investing $2 billion to scale the business, targeting at least 20 GWh of deployed storage by the end of 2027. [13]
MarketWatch framed the opportunity even more aggressively, noting data-center power demand projections and citing analyst estimates that the energy-storage initiative could potentially become a very large revenue stream (with MarketWatch referencing estimates around $20 billion in annual revenue). [14]
Whether Ford can execute here is an open question—Tesla is the obvious comp, and energy storage is competitive and operationally demanding—but strategically it’s clever: it converts “EV battery overcapacity” from a sunk cost into a potential growth platform.
Ford also raised guidance—an underappreciated support for the stock
Alongside the EV reset, Ford said it raised 2025 adjusted EBIT guidance to about $7 billion and reaffirmed adjusted free cash flow guidance, trending toward the high end of $2 billion to $3 billion. [15]
Ford also said it plans to report Q4 and full-year 2025 results on Tuesday, Feb. 10. [16]
That guidance matters because it helps explain why the stock isn’t simply selling off on a $19.5B headline: investors are weighing the charges against the idea that Ford is protecting near-term profitability while repositioning its longer-term product mix.
Barron’s also highlighted that investors appeared to treat the move as a “bold action,” and pointed to guidance implying stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter operating profit (Barron’s cited $1.3 billion). [17]
Ratings and credit angle: Moody’s affirms Ba1, outlines 2026 margin expectations
Beyond equity analysts, credit observers are watching Ford’s reset closely. An Investing.com report said Moody’s affirmed Ford’s Ba1 corporate family and senior unsecured ratings with a stable outlook, pointing to Ford’s competitive position in trucks/vans and its liquidity profile. [18]
The same report cited Moody’s expectations that Ford’s automotive EBIT margin could widen to 4.2% in 2026, after a projected 2.2% in 2025 (with headwinds including tariffs and production disruptions). It also cited Ford’s cash and marketable securities as of Sept. 30. [19]
For Ford stock, this is a reminder that the EV pivot isn’t just about product strategy—it’s also about protecting cash generation and balance-sheet flexibility through a choppy demand cycle.
Analyst forecasts for Ford stock: price targets cluster around “Hold”
Across mainstream tracking services, the message is consistent: analysts aren’t calling Ford a screaming buy at $13–$14, but they aren’t treating it like a meltdown either.
Here’s what current consensus snapshots look like:
- MarketBeat: average price target $12.04 (implying downside vs. mid-$13 prices), with a wide high/low spread. [20]
- TipRanks: average price target $13.12, high $15, low $11, and a consensus rating of Hold based on a mix of buy/hold/sell calls. [21]
- MarketWatch “Analyst Estimates” snapshot: high $15, median $13, low $11, average $12.97. [22]
A Reuters/LSEG snapshot published via TradingView also captures the tone: most brokerages are at hold, and the median price target is around $12. [23]
How to interpret that
This kind of target distribution usually means analysts think Ford is:
- fairly valued if execution holds and macro conditions cooperate, but
- still facing enough structural/cyclical risk that many firms don’t want to slap a bullish multiple on it.
In other words: Ford’s story is improving, but the Street wants proof—especially proof that the EV losses are contained and that hybrids/EREVs plus Ford Pro can carry margins through 2026.
Technical analysis: momentum is positive, but some signals look stretched
Technical dashboards are generally constructive on Ford right now:
- Investing.com’s daily technical summary lists Ford in a “Strong Buy” posture on technical indicators, while its moving averages lean Buy overall. [24]
That said, some oscillator-based tools (which tend to flash caution when a stock runs hot) have been less uniformly bullish in recent days—suggesting Ford could be due for consolidation even if the trend remains up.
Technical analysis won’t tell you whether Ford’s energy-storage bet works—but it can explain why the stock is acting resilient in the face of scary-sounding headlines.
Other headline risk investors are watching: recalls and quality costs
Ford also continues to face the kind of operational risk that can quietly pressure margins: recalls, warranty costs, and quality-related expenses.
Reuters reported on Dec. 16 that Ford is recalling 32,160 vehicles in the U.S. due to a risk of loss of drive power increasing crash risk, with additional details involving a half shaft engagement issue. [25]
For long-term Ford stock holders, recall headlines matter less for the one-day move and more for what they imply about warranty spend, customer trust, and margin durability—especially in a world where Ford is trying to convince investors it can be a steadier cash generator.
The global wrinkle: Ford’s Europe strategy is moving too
One nuance that often gets lost in “Ford is retreating from EVs” headlines: Ford is trying to tailor strategy by region.
A Ford release distributed via PR Newswire on Dec. 9 said Ford is pursuing a Europe plan anchored by Ford Pro and a new lineup of electrified passenger vehicles, including a partnership with Renault Group to develop two Ford-branded EVs on Renault’s Ampere platform, targeting showrooms in 2028. [26]
That supports Reuters’ broader framing that automakers face a dilemma: the U.S. market is cooling on BEVs (especially without subsidies), while other regions still have policy and product trajectories pushing electrification—forcing companies to avoid one-size-fits-all global lineups. [27]
Bottom line: what matters most for Ford stock into 2026
Ford stock is being priced like a company in the middle of a strategic course correction—one that could unlock better returns if it reduces EV losses and redirects capital to higher-ROI businesses, but also one that comes with real execution risk.
Bull case catalysts to watch
- Evidence that the hybrid/EREV shift boosts margins and stabilizes demand in trucks and work vehicles
- Clear progress toward Model e profitability by 2029 (Ford’s stated goal) [28]
- Tangible commercial traction in energy storage (orders, partnerships, margin profile) [29]
- Confirmation in February earnings that raised guidance is holding up [30]
Bear case risks
- Cash charges and execution missteps as programs are canceled and factories repurposed [31]
- Pricing pressure and cyclical weakness in autos (Ford is still an auto cycle creature)
- Ongoing recall/quality costs eating into “better strategy” gains [32]
- Competitive intensity from both legacy OEMs and EV-native players across trucks, vans, and energy storage
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. www.businessinsider.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.autoweek.com, 13. www.businessinsider.com, 14. www.marketwatch.com, 15. www.fromtheroad.ford.com, 16. www.fromtheroad.ford.com, 17. www.barrons.com, 18. ng.investing.com, 19. ng.investing.com, 20. www.marketbeat.com, 21. www.tipranks.com, 22. www.marketwatch.com, 23. www.tradingview.com, 24. www.investing.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.prnewswire.com, 27. www.reuters.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.businessinsider.com, 30. www.fromtheroad.ford.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.reuters.com
