Does anyone know how Ford is doing lately? I believe they did not take any help and were doing well for a while but haven't really followed them. What do they do different than GM?

Make better cars ?

Does anyone know how Ford is doing lately? I believe they did not take any help and were doing well for a while but haven't really followed them. What do they do different than GM?

 

 

Ford Motor Company Financial Earning Reports & SEC Filings for Ford Investors

 

Maybe this will help.

Does anyone know how Ford is doing lately? I believe they did not take any help and were doing well for a while but haven't really followed them. What do they do different than GM?

 

Ford (and I guess also Chrysler who is owned by Fiat) seem to be doing better because the seem to be putting out more appealing cars. The Ford Focus, Fusion and Taraus have been (as far as I can tell) pretty good sellers for Ford, a company that not too long ago depended almost completely on truck and SUV sales. So these three cars with pretty decent styling seem to be complementing the F-150 and Mustang when it comes to generating sales. GM just doesn't seem to be able to create cars that really are catching the American public's eye for some reason. Not sure what their designers are doing wrong.

 

I haven't followed Chrysler but I have read where Fiat's CEO has done quite well in bringing in a fresh new look to the new models so I guess they are doing the same thing.

Make better cars ?

 

But do that actually do things differently than GM or do they just do the same thing better? I'm really not familiar with how the two are run.

Thanks Henry, looks like they're doing ok.

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/gm/financials

 

This is what I found for GM for approximately the same time frame.

GM Annual Income Statement - General Motors Co. Annual Financials

 

This is what I found for GM for approximately the same time frame.

 

Here is this bean counter's view on GM's 2011 financial results.

 

Their return on sales is just barely higher than 5% (7.98Billion Net Income to 150.28Billion in Sales). I know some will look at 7.98 Billion in profit and think that is great but I would be more comfortable with a return of sales closer to 10%, 5% just doesn't give you much wiggle room, especially for a manufacturer like GM. Another downturn in the auto industry and that 7.98 billion in profit could flip to a loss of an equal amount quickly, again, not much wiggle room. A service company can get away with tighter margins due to less capital outlay to support but I would be uncomfortable with a manufacturer with those margins with the large capital outlays they need to continually support. GM's Gross Profit Margin is low also (18.35 Billion versus 150.28Billion) which doesn't leave much room for Sales, General and Admin Expenses, interest on debt, etc. which leads to the low return on sales already mentioned.

 

The Balance Sheet looks OK. GM has a decent amount of Cash and Cash Equivalents (31.85 Billion) for a company its size. That Cash and Equivalents amount alone covers 2/3 of its short term liabilities and total short term assets is 123% of short term liabilities so it would appear GM has decent liquidity. One area of concern is GM's Debt to Equity ratio of 37% (38.99 Billion versus 105.61 Billion). That means GM is pretty highly leveraged. I would prefer a ratio of around 50%. If I were the Obama Administration, I would have considered selling about 5 Billion in Preferred Stock and used the proceeds of the sale to pay down Long Term Debt. Lowering GM's Debt Service amount would give it more flexibility in rough waters.

 

I did like GM Statement of Cash Flows, especially Cash Flows from Operations. For the past two years, GM has been able to have operating cashflows slightly exceed net income which means GM is able to convert it Net Income in to cash rather than have the cash tied up in inventory, accounts receivable, etc.. Also interesting that Cash Flows from Investing Activities shows GM is investing in its plants. I was surprised GM is purchasing Investments, not sure why a struggling company would apply cash to investment rather than paying down obligations. Maybe they are setting aside free cash for the future? I was a little surprised to see the government is allowing GM to pay dividends on common stock, granted it was less than a Billion but still. Maybe that is more for appearance sake in the stock market?? Overall I like GM's Cashflows, not too shabby.

Interesting, using the same ratios I used to analyse GM, GM's Inc Stmt and Bal Sheet are a little strong than Ford's (Ford's return on sales was only 3% and Ford's debt to equity was only 10%) but I was more impressed with Ford's Cash Flows.

 

Keep in mind, for GM I only had 2011 numbers, maybe their 2012 numbers have plummeted. If I get time I will look at GE (another large manufacturer, the closest I can think of for comparability) and see how they are doing. GE used to be one of the few companies who debt was Triple A rated, even better than the federal goverment's debt sadly. Other AAA rated companies I can think of are Microsoft, ADP, Johnson and Johnson and........I cannot think of another off hand. Possibly Exxon Mobil. While their return on sales are not near as high as Google's or Apple's, they are consistent which saves the debt market of heart burn.

Edited October 15, 201213 yr by Bert

^ - I will say I went by the local Chevy dealer. Cruz's, Tahoe's and Sliverodoes lined up as never before. I saw where dealer inventories were up. They have done some channel stuffing here these last couple of months.

^ - I will say I went by the local Chevy dealer. Cruz's, Tahoe's and Sliverodoes lined up as never before. I saw where dealer inventories were up. They have done some channel stuffing here these last couple of months.

 

When you say they have done some channel stuffing, I assume you meant stuffing cars down the dealers throats faster than dealers are ordering cars to bump up sales and lower inventory? Harley Davidson did that to their dealers about a decade ago and felt a pretty bad backlash due to that, I would hope everyone else would have learned from Harley Davidson. When I leave work, I drive by the largest Chevrolet dealership in Louisville. I may drive by and see what their lot looks like.

When you say they have done some channel stuffing, I assume you meant stuffing cars down the dealers throats faster than dealers are ordering cars to bump up sales and lower inventory? Harley Davidson did that to their dealers about a decade ago and felt a pretty bad backlash due to that, I would hope everyone else would have learned from Harley Davidson. When I leave work, I drive by the largest Chevrolet dealership in Louisville. I may drive by and see what their lot looks like.

 

GM September Sales Miss; Channel Stuffing Resumes | ZeroHedge

 

"Because after moderating in the past few months after peaking in March, dealer inventory has once again resumed rising, and is now higher for the third month in a row, increasing to 689,334 units in September."

Doomed

GM September Sales Miss; Channel Stuffing Resumes | ZeroHedge

 

"Because after moderating in the past few months after peaking in March, dealer inventory has once again resumed rising, and is now higher for the third month in a row, increasing to 689,334 units in September."

 

I google search reveals no legitimate sources about anything to do with "channel stuffing" but plenty of hits on the right wing blogosphere. That tells me this is trying to use a lawsuit filed by an investor earlier in the year to dispell any good news that would possibly favor the President. I'm willing to look at a legit source if you have one, otherwise I'll go with this type of article.

 

September Car Sales Outpace Forecasts - Edmunds.com

 

General Motors: GM reported September sales of 210,245 vehicles, up 1.5 percent compared with a year ago for GM's best September since 2008, the month that Lehman Brothers collapsed ushering in the recession. Its sales were roughly in line with Edmunds.com's forecast. Sales by brand showed Chevrolet was up 1.5 percent, Buick rose 7.9 percent, GMC was flat, and Cadillac was down 1.3 percent. The bright spot was GM car sales which were up 29 percent, driven largely by new models. Mini, small and compact cars were up a combined 97 percent.

 

"Passenger cars have been the launch point for a broad and deep GM product offensive," said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations. Indeed, GM experienced strong sales of cars, especially small, fuel-efficient ones: the Chevrolet Cruze, up 43 percent to 25,787 units; the Chevrolet Sonic at 7,252 units; the Chevrolet Spark at 2,223 units while it remains available only in 18 markets; an all-time record for the Chevrolet Volt at 2,851 sold in the month; and the Buick Verano at 4,042 units sold. The Cadillac XTS, introduced in June, has been off to a good start with 2,506 sold in September; the Cadillac ATS had its first month of sales with 611 units sold.

 

GM claimed truck sales were down 12 percent — led by a 17-percent drop in Chevrolet Silverado sales — because GM is winding down the old version to make way for the new ones and fleet sales were down 46 percent "due to the timing of customer deliveries." GM replaces its full-size pickup trucks and its full-size SUVs next year. Sales of large crossovers like the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave, with the exception of the GMC Acadia, had lower sales due to higher gas prices, GM executives said. Small crossover sales of the GMC Terrain and Equinox rose.

 

GM noted that the car market is opportunely

Seems that some people want GM to fail and will take great personal satisfaction from it .

 

Wouldn't say I want GM to fail, but I see no reason why I should care if they do. They deserved to fail before the bailout, so wouldn't bother me in the slightest. There's no reason I should care.

Wouldn't say I want GM to fail, but I see no reason why I should care if they do. They deserved to fail before the bailout, so wouldn't bother me in the slightest. There's no reason I should care.

 

Except for maybe a general feeling of sympathy for all the Joe Sixpacks who will lose their jobs and, in some cases, destroy whole communities?