Ford Motor announced its Q1 financial results on Wednesday, and while the automaker experienced a 6% uptick in revenue to $43.3 billion, it also recorded a one-time swing from tariff refunds. Ford's Q1 results include a $1.3 billion one-time IEEPA tariff benefit for tariffs paid from March 2025 to February 2026.
Still, challenges remain, like the fallout from the Novelis fire in September. Sherry House, Ford's chief financial officer, provided an update on efforts to get the key aluminum supplier back online.
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The massive fire at the Novelis plant in New York leveled the plant’s hot mill last year, the facility’s primary aluminum sheet production area. Ford stood to withstand significant losses, and the fire threatened F-150 production.
House said Ford will incur $1.5 billion to $2 billion in costs to secure alternatively-sourced aluminum until the Novelis facility is operating at full throughput later this year.
House said F-Series sales remain healthy as inventory recovers from the Novelis supply disruption—and the company will have a richer product mix as Novelis ramps production.
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Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra said Ford still expects the Novelis hot mill to restart and begin to ramp in May. If the relaunch doesn't go according to plan, Ford has contingency plans in place, including additional aluminum supply to make sure production schedules aren't interrupted through the end of the year.
Ford's global revenue grew by more than 6% despite a 4% decline in volume, which the automaker expected as it exited low-margin products like the Escape in North America and Focus in Europe.
In the U.S., Ford had the highest Q1 revenue share in five years, driven by large utilities and trucks. House also said that Ford's balance sheet remains "strong," with some $22 billion in cash and $43 billion in liquidity.
The company raised its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion, up from $8 billion to $10 billion. However, the guidance does not address the potential impact of sustained conflict in the Middle East or a significant downturn in the U.S. economy, which House said could materially affect industry demand.
Ford also expects commodity headwinds of $2 billion, $1 billion higher than previous estimates, largely due to higher aluminum pricing driven by global supply constraints. That figure doesn’t even include Novelis-related aluminum costs.
Finally, the impact of ongoing tariffs at Ford remains unchanged, at about $1 billion and is now a part of the automaker's run-rate costs.
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