Ford Motor Co. shares held onto Thursday's gains ahead of Friday's trading session, as investors assessed whether the automaker's new energy storage initiative can sustain momentum in a volatile May. The stock closed at $13.67 on Thursday, up 3.4%, and remained unchanged in premarket activity, reflecting a cautious stance before the long Memorial Day weekend.
The catalyst behind the recent rally is Ford Energy's five-year framework agreement with EDF power solutions North America. Under the deal, EDF can purchase up to 4 gigawatt-hours annually of Ford Energy's DC Block battery energy storage systems (BESS), with total potential volume reaching 20 GWh through 2031. Deliveries are expected to commence in 2028. This marks a strategic shift for Ford, leveraging its electric vehicle battery capacity to tap into growing demand from data centers, utilities, and industrial clients.
Lisa Drake, president of Ford Energy, emphasized that the agreement validates market demand for a supplier with "industrial-scale manufacturing discipline" and "full lifecycle accountability." Tristan Grimbert, CEO of EDF power solutions North America, highlighted the importance of supply-chain reliability and product quality. The deal builds on earlier investor enthusiasm, following a 13% surge on May 13—Ford's biggest one-day gain in about six years—after Morgan Stanley highlighted Ford's relationship with CATL as an "underappreciated strategic competitive advantage."
Ford's Thursday performance outpaced rivals General Motors and Tesla, which rose 1.41% and 0.14%, respectively. Trading volume was robust at approximately 72.3 million shares, exceeding the 50-day average. The broader market also supported gains, with U.S. stock futures edging higher ahead of the holiday weekend. The Dow closed at a record high on Thursday, and the S&P 500 was on track for its eighth consecutive weekly gain. Markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day, while bond markets have an early close recommendation at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.
The company's traditional business remains a mixed bag. Ford raised its full-year adjusted EBIT forecast to $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion after reporting first-quarter adjusted EBIT of $3.5 billion on revenue of $43.3 billion. CEO Jim Farley cited "momentum of the Ford+ plan," while CFO Sherry House pointed to cost cuts, software revenue, and improvements in EV performance as pathways to higher margins. The commercial vehicle unit Ford Pro generated $1.7 billion in EBIT, and Ford Blue posted $1.9 billion, but the EV unit Ford Model e still lost $777 million.
However, risks remain. Ford's outlook excludes the impact of a sustained Middle East conflict or a sharp U.S. downturn. The company assumes about $2 billion in commodity headwinds, $1 billion in tariff impacts, and another year of steep losses from Model e. A softer auto market, rising aluminum costs, or delays in converting the energy business into real earnings could quickly reverse the stock's recent gains. For now, traders are treating Ford as more than a low-multiple Detroit automaker, but that leaves less room for disappointment.
