Ford stocks dive under $ 9 for the first time since 2012

In a statement Tuesday, the automaker defended the actions it's undertaking to restructure its business and the time it takes to execute them during a period of prolonged profitability.

"As we said earlier, the whole society is changing urgently and taking proactive steps to restructure and restructure its business," said spokesman Brad Carroll. "We will capitalize on our strengths, strengthen underperforming products and regions, and selectively and intelligently adopt solutions that do not deliver the right return." We are confident that over time the market will recognize our progress. "

Ford is profitable, thanks mainly to a North American company supported by its best-selling F-Series vans and an expanding SUV portfolio. It also has $ 16.8 billion at the end of the second quarter and $ 19.6 billion in marketable securities.

Ford's real problem right now is the stock price, said David Kudla, CEO of Grand Blanc-based Mainstay Capital Management LLC, and convinced investors he had a future with Auto 2.0 . Ford's actions are in full swing because company officials have still not clearly telegraphed the company's plan for autonomous vehicles and its restructuring.

"This is not 2008," said Kudla, citing the difficult macroeconomic environment that Ford and its competitors faced a decade ago, due to the global financial crisis. "It's not 1992. There's no crisis here, it's not a financial crisis for Ford, they have time to do it methodically and do it optimally. What we still want to see is more of this articulation, message of their strategic plan. "

Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. conceded this at the end of September. He said the company was "not even close to a crisis" but said that there was work to be done. Tuesday 's attack against the stock price comes after the consecutive announcements on Friday and Monday detailing in part the ongoing restructuring plans.

On Friday, Ford officials said they expect a reduction of an indeterminate number of salaried employees worldwide as part of an effort to smooth management. Ford then announced Monday that it would save $ 150 million a year through a new marketing agreement with BBDO, based in New York.

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Coupled with the streamlined product partnership and product development discussions previously announced with Volkswagen AG and India's Mahindra India, these changes are part of the cost-reduction efforts being carried out across the globe. # 39; company. The builder is currently undergoing a global restructuring of $ 11 billion and a reduction in operating costs of $ 25.5 billion.

Aside from the assurances that Hackett and his officials are making changes, Ford has not been as specific as Wall Street has always been waiting for traditional builders. And the company has not yet given details about its autonomous vehicle platform and the commercial model of these vehicles.

Lack of detail weighs heavily on price, Kudla said, "Where does the company go and what can people invest in? You see a lot at GM. Investors are looking for more details like this at Hackett and Ford. . "

Most auto inventories entered the fourth quarter of the year on a weak note due to stagnant sales and growing trade tensions between the United States, China and the European Union. At the end of last month, Hackett said he expected President Donald Trump's rates to yield Ford a billion-dollar profit over the next year.

The decline in Ford's stock comes just over a month after Moody's Investors Service lowered Ford's rating to the lowest credit rating, calling the company's outlook "negative."

The rating agency said the downgrade is due to "the erosion of the company's global business position and the challenges it will face in implementing its fitness restructuring program." The new Baa3 rating, considered a risky investment, is higher than Moody's rating for speculative bonds.

Moody's then said that Ford should take drastic action – such as the company's decision to remove all of its sedan models – while posting strong earnings in North America and having strong liquidity. But it will take several years for the benefits of a restructuring to materialize, said Moody's.

Ford announced Friday that employee reduction plans would not materialize until the second quarter of 2019. The automaker is just months away from launching a new product that should add a stock of high-profit vehicles to its range. In 2020, Ford wants nearly nine in ten vehicles sold in the United States to be trucks, vans or SUVs.

The automaker is also committed to launching its first fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel, brake pedal or throttle by 2021.

But if Ford officials want to improve stock prices – Bill Ford and the Ford family have a huge share of their personal stock wealth – the company needs to give investors and other stakeholders a clearer picture of its future, said Kudla.

"This stock price reduces the future," he said. "That's what people are looking for: what is Ford's future?"