FoMoCo heading for bankruptcy soon?

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Found this opinion piece on a capital markets blog. Thought it was interesting and my main concern and wondering was what this would mean to dealerships, service network and warranties.

https://www.ccn.com/why-bankruptcy-forgone-conclusion-for-ford-motor-company/

 

[lngebrown]

I hope this is fake news. Picking up my new Raptor in a couple of weeks and now I'm having second thoughts.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

Just like CNN in the news media, in the investment community CCN doesn’t have much credibility as a valid investor news source.

 

[smurfslayer]

It looks a little bit like someone trying to make news, rather than report news. Another example is when we recently killed the Iranian terrorist, several reporters went to “financial experts” asking about oil futures, and how much more oil was going to cost. Not whether it would affect oil futures, how much more oil was going up. The answer, as it turns out was none because we’re producing more oil than most of the middle east.

That’s essentially market manipulation. Rumor mongering would be another, less descriptive term because rumor mongering is just the spreading of unsubstantiated information or lies. This report is far beyond that, it’s actually an attempt to influence the market place by asking push poll questions.

Ford isn’t perfect, I’d like to see them do some things different. I think there could be some true elements of this story but there’s a good deal of “you’re in trouble” taunting too.

 

[jzweedyk]

I wondered why they hired Hackett. Being from Grand Rapids, I knew Steelcase pretty well, and his record there was not good. When they had issues, he quickly blamed the economy rather than poor management which led to poor employee moral. They probably need to get rid of him.

 

[CigarPundit]

Story on ccn from some guy in India who is a “blogger” and manages the portfolio of “several local retail clients.” Not exactly a credible source.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Well - this is a Norwegian publication first of all. And the blogger is a 20 year old geek with a history in the Scandinavian online scene. Overall fully onboard with this being merely a bold opinion piece.
That being said - digging a bit deeper into other more trusted publications, he’s not alone with his assessment - looking at seeking alpha, there’s split opinions on where FoMoCo is heading.

Just looking at the stock itself and the performance over the past very prosperous years since 2014 makes me wonder how these guys are still holding up with their leadership team.

Anyway - my initial post was about attempting to trigger some responses as to “what would happen if...” - more our of curiosity and less so out of a belief that this kid is actually onto something.

 

[Kuan]

I would think that a Ford bankruptcy would not happen overnight. They are legally obligated to provide warranty, so they would have a plan to keep dealers open for 5yrs (I think that is max warranty you can get?) after the declaration. Parts can easily be bought through other various channels, but the warranty would still be on Ford unless the terms of bankruptcy include a warranty lead (another manufacturer, or entirely different entity). This is not unheard of, but I don't think owners would be without a warranty.
Ford's decision making over the last 10yrs has increasingly gotten worse. They have made some very strategic, controversial decisions on direction that really don't match up to the industry or consumer need. I can very well see the bad choices made now bankrupting the company.

 

[jzweedyk]

Even if it did happen, it would be a reorganization not a liquidation. It would be to get rid of some debt and restructure other debt. Hackett screwed up a couple of years ago by announcing they were dropping cars and focusing on trucks. After that, who would buy a Ford car knowing it was going to be discontinued soon? He is an idiot, and a Ford employee backed me up on that. But trucks have a higher margin, and I think (it is only worth 2 cents) that they will be OK. To put my money where my mouth is, I plan on buying a Bronco Raptor, if they bring that out.

 

[Muchmore]

Brought to you by a guy who has a HUGE short bet on Ford Motor Company!