What happened
Shares of Ford (F 0.08%) were falling today after the company reported second-quarter vehicle-sales results. While vehicle sales increased 1.8% over the period to 483,688, they fell far short of analysts' average estimate for an increase of 4.2% from the year-ago quarter.
The automotive stock slid by as much as 6.3% today and was down by 2.4% as of 2 p.m. ET.
So what
Ford filed its latest vehicle-delivery figures with the SEC today, and the company reported a 31.5% increase for its June deliveries, year over year.
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"Amid industrywide supply constraints, Ford outperformed the industry driven by strong F-Series, Explorer and new Expedition and Navigator SUV sales," Andrew Frick, Ford's vice president of U.S. and Canada sales, said in the filing. And while the automaker's June sales increased significantly, investors latched onto the fact that deliveries for the full quarter were lower than what analysts were expecting.
Investors may be taking their negative sentiment cues from the broader automotive market, which has experienced recent vehicle sales declines. GM's U.S. sales fell 15% in the second quarter, Toyota's dropped nearly 23%, and Stellantis' U.S. sales tumbled 16%.
Now what
While Ford's second-quarter vehicle-sales growth was better than many of its competitors, investors are likely focused on the fact that recession fears continue to grow amid high inflation and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes. With so much uncertainty concerning the U.S. economy and how consumers will respond to inflation, Ford investors can likely expect more volatility from the automotive stock in the near term.
