- Ford (NYSE:F) hosts its first investor day event since 2017 on May 26 just as the automaker appears to be gaining momentum after the introduction of the electric version of the iconic Mustang and F-150 sales monster.
- Wells Fargo largely expects Ford to reaffirm long-term margin targets (8% overall, 10% in North America and 6% in Europe) and focus on the future mobility themes around electric vehicles, autonomous tech and Big Data. Analyst Colin Langan and team are also optimistic the event will feature some positive surprises, possibly on the Big Data front.
- Also expect some conversation from Ford on the battery joint venture with SK Innovation. Wells Fargo notes the JV is massive in scale at 60 GWh vs. Tesla's Gigafactory at around 50 GWh. Ford could also release some details on a planned EV being built on Volkswagen's (OTCPK:VLKAF) MEB platform in 2023. Updates on the Argo AI business and the BlueCruise level 2 autonomous system could also attract notice.
- The Detroit automaker is attracting a lot of attention. Ford generated more than 44,500 reservations for the F-150 Lightning in the first 48 hours after its event last week, a mark that earned a congratulatory tweet from Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) Elon Musk. Analysts and industry reporters are largely positive on the Ford electric push. The F-150 reveal also sent jolts across the electric vehicle sector as investors weighed the implications for automakers like Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ:RIDE), Canoo (NASDAQ:GOEV)and Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA).
- See a breakdown of some of the other big events next week that could impact share prices in Seeking Alpha's latest Catalyst Watch article.