Ford Motor on Tuesday lifted its annual guidance for a second time this year, to $10 billion to $11 billion in earnings before interest and taxes, citing strong pricing and improvements in its core business.

Strong Pricing and Resilient Consumers

The automaker in April raised its guidance to $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion in projected earnings before interest and taxes for the year, from a previous $8 billion to $10 billion to start the year. Ford CEO Jim Farley has for years said that the automaker needs to become more cost-efficient, especially in its main profit center — production of gasoline-powered trucks and SUVs.

Sherry House, Ford’s finance chief, said the automaker’s second-quarter results indicate it is getting closer to that goal. “Our industrial system is getting fitter,” said House, adding that the quarterly performance was boosted by “quite resilient” customers.

Ford’s second-quarter core profit rose nearly 20% to $2.5 billion, as strong U.S. demand helped offset tariff costs and broader economic uncertainty. The automaker previously said that it faces a net tariff cost of about $1 billion for the year, and House said on Tuesday that costs were expected to be slightly improved from that earlier projection, without providing a new figure.

Electric Vehicle Plans

While EV sales in the U.S. fell 57.4% for Ford in the first half of the year, the automaker is still planning to begin production of its $30,000 electric pickup at a plant in Kentucky in 2027. Ford recorded losses of $919 million in its EV and software unit in the second quarter, and projected annual losses of about $4 billion in that segment.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.