There's no doubt that Ford Motor Company's (F 0.66%) fourth quarter was disappointing, especially considering cross-town rival General Motors (NYSE: GM) raised the bar with a better-than-expected result.

And if investors merely scratched the surface of the report, you might think that Ford's special impairment of $7.4 billion on its Rivian (RIVN -2.27%) investment tanked the results. That's not the full story, however. In fact, investors also received a nice gift thanks to the monetization of Ford's Rivian shares.

Let's explain why the partnership between Rivian and Ford broke down, why the $7.4 billion impairment isn't as bad as you might think, and how it helped spur a supplemental dividend of $0.65 per share.

How it all began

Rewind the clock back to 2019, when Ford and Rivian formed a strategic partnership through a $500 million minority investment. Ford would later increase that investment to a total of $1.2 billion. The initial plan was for the automakers to build an all-new electric vehicle using Rivian's platform.

That partnership was scrapped before a vehicle was produced. However, it wasn't because the partnership soured, but rather because Ford quickly developed three big wins with the Mustang Mach-E crossover, E-Transit van, and its F-150 Lightning pickup.

Those three electric vehicles would push Ford up the ranks to become the number-two seller of EVs in the U.S. market in 2022. Both companies decided it was beneficial for them to focus on their own priorities, although Ford kept its investment in Rivian. This is where things get a little interesting, at least on paper.

Rise and fall

Right before the two automakers announced they would cancel plans to develop a vehicle together, Rivian held its initial public offering (IPO), which was a huge success and the biggest public offering in nearly a decade.

It turned Ford's original $500 million investment into a value of $10.6 billion, and then Ford reported a gain on that investment to the tune of $9.1 billion in 2021.

Then came 2022, which was a bit of a rough year for not only the automotive industry, but Rivian in particular -- it dished out price increases and was hit with consumer backlash and a nose diving stock price. To make matters worse, Ford was also starting to sell off shares of Rivian.

Ford originally owned 101.9 million Rivian shares, roughly 12% of the total share count, and sold 91 million of those shares during 2022. Ford then had a special impairment of $7.4 billion during the fourth quarter that reflected the change in value of Rivian shares.

However, looking at it from a different angle helps put the scenario in perspective. Ford invested $1.2 billion in Rivian, and the sale of 91 million shares netted the company $3 billion. Thanks to the automaker's strong cash flow, and also the monetization of Ford's stake in Rivian, the company announced a first-quarter regular dividend of $0.15 per share, and also a supplemental dividend of $0.65 per share.

The bottom line

While the partnership between Rivian and Ford fizzled out before bearing any fruit, the headlines emphasizing Ford's $7.4 billion impairment on its investment don't do the full story justice. To be fair, there are other issues Ford needs to fix that came to light during the fourth quarter. However, at the end of the day, Ford can now completely focus on its own blossoming EV lineup, and dish out a little extra cash to shareholders after monetizing its Rivian shares.