On Oct. 20, Ford (NYSE:F) released earnings for its 2005 third quarter, which ended Sept. 30.

  • Net loss per share excluding special items was $0.10, or one penny worse than the Street consensus. Makes you wonder what executives are so optimistic about, eh?

  • This is Ford's first quarterly net loss in more than two years. The biggest contributor was Ford's ailing auto business, which posted a $1.3 billion pre-tax loss, more than double the $609 million loss posted in last year's Q3.

  • The finance team couldn't cover this time, either, as operating margins were nearly cut in half. Ouch.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights (What's this?)

Avg. Est.

Q3 2005

Q3 2004

% Change

Sales

$32,040

$40,856

$39,121

+4.4%

Net Profit

--

$(284)

$266

NA

EPS

$(0.09)

$(0.15)

$0.15

NA



Margin Checkup (What's this?)

Q3 2005

Q3 2004

Change

Gross Margin

17.93%

20.87%

-2.94%

Op. Margin

-3.28%

6.32%

-3.03%

Net Margin

-0.70%

0.68%

-1.38%



Balance Sheet Highlights (What's this?)

Assets

Q3 2005

Q3 2004

% Change

Cash+ ST Invest.

$36,814

$28,998

+27%

Inventory

$11,687

$10,981

+6.4%

Accounts Rec.

$97,042

$115,351

-15.9%



Liabilities

Long-Term Debt

$141,738

$164,707

-13.9%

Accounts Pay.

$22,991

$22,399

+2.6%



Cash Flow Highlights (What's this?)

Q3 2005

Q3 2004

% Change

Cash From Ops

$20,103

$19,887

+1.1%

Capital Expend.

$5,462

$4,896

+11.6%

Free Cash Flow

$14,641

$14,991

-2.3%



Related Companies:

  • BMW (OTC BB: BAMXF.PK)
  • DaimlerChrysler (NYSE:DCX)
  • General Motors (NYSE:GM)
  • Honda (NYSE:HMC)
  • Nissan (NASDAQ:NSANY)
  • Toyota (NYSE:TM)

Related Foolishness:

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Fool contributor Tim Beyers didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. You can find out what is in his portfolio by checking Tim's Fool profile . BMW is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy .