Ford Stock Rises on Surprising Earnings Report

In the heart of earnings season, an unlikely hero has emerged: Ford Motor Company. On June 23, Ford reported second quarter earnings of $2.3 million--a sizeable turnaround from the $8.7 billion loss the carmaker reported in the same quarter of last year. Ford stock moved up slightly on the news, but still remains well off its 21st century high. At midday, Ford stock was trading in the $7-range, above its previous 52-week high of $6.54. The 52-week low for Ford stock is $1.01.

The carmaker's positive second quarter earnings were largely related to a $3.4 billion gain taken on the early repayment of debt. Pretax operating results were promising, however: a loss of $424 million and a 59 percent improvement over last year's second quarter.

Excluding special items, Ford's after-tax operating loss was $0.21 per share. This beats analysts' expectations, which averaged $0.49 per share.

Ford's surprise earnings news will probably have a larger impact on investor sentiment than on the Ford stock price. Investors have plenty of reasons lately to be sour on domestic automakers. GM and Chrysler both accepted federal support and then claimed bankruptcy protection under the pressures of 27-year lows in auto sales. Ford, on the other hand, chose to navigate through the crisis without federal support and currently appears to be improving its cost structure. The automaker absorbed a 29 percent revenue decline in the second quarter, but cut its operating cash burn to $1 billion from $3.7 billion in the first quarter.

The ticker for Ford stock is F.