Ford Motor Co.(F – Analyst Report) is one of the leading global auto manufacturers and auto financial services providers. The company’s product line boasts of heavyweights such as the legendary Ford Mustang and the F-Series truck, which has been the highest-selling vehicle in the U.S. for the last 34 years. It also owns the luxury vehicle brand, Lincoln.

Ford is gaining from its product launches, global expansion, efficient capital deployment and success of the One Ford plan. The company is renewing the majority of its product line-up and has planned several vehicle launches under the One Ford plan, which is helping boost sales. However, Ford’s European operations continue to be loss-making despite restructuring initiatives. Weakness in South America as well as frequent product recalls and rising structural expenses are other concerns.

As a result, investors have been eagerly awaiting Ford’s latest earnings report. Let’s take a quick look at this Michigan-based automobile giant’s fourth-quarter release.

Estimate Trend & Surprise History

Investors should note that the earnings estimate for Ford for the fourth quarter inched up by 1 cent in the past 7 days and 3 cents in the last 30 days. Moreover, the automaker has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 2 of the trailing 4 quarters with an average beat of around 11.12%.

Zacks Rank

Ford currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), but that could change following its earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:

Earnings Beat Estimates

Ford raked in adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share that surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents. Moreover, adjusted earnings were 28 cents higher than the year-ago quarter.

Revenues Surpass Estimates

Ford logged revenues of $40.3 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $35.79 billion. Revenues were also $4.4 billion higher than a year-ago.