Ford Motor Co. kept its 2024 guidance unchanged Tuesday. Meanwhile, Amazon's pharmacy efforts have added another headache, and the newest member of Disney's board of directors weighed in on the ongoing proxy battle at the entertainment giant. Here's a closer look at these headlines and our thoughts on each. YTD Mountain F stock performance year-to-date. News: Ford CFO John Lawler on Tuesday reiterated the company's 2024 operating guidance at the Bank of America Securities Auto Summit. Ford still expects to earn between $10 billion and $12 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT; Generating adjusted free cash flow of between $6 billion and $7 billion; And spend between $8 billion and $9.5 billion on capital expenditures — just as the company presented in early February alongside its 2023 fourth-quarter results earlier this month. CLUB OPINION: Ford shares were hit hard on Tuesday, falling 3.6%, despite rival General Motors advancing 1% during the session. The variation in stock performance has not been great. When Ford first issued his guidance, we took it as optimistic. The fact of Tuesday's repeat suggests that the administration's nearly $2 billion cost-cutting effort is on track, and that its investments in discounted electric vehicles and intense focus on hybrids are going as planned. In fact, Ford's February sales numbers showed a lot of momentum in the hybrid market. Ford is back on track with its February earnings report, but going forward we still need to see consistency in earnings, cash flow and quality control, while managing losses in the electric vehicle division. Following Ford's fourth-quarter earnings announcement, we raised our price target on Ford shares to $15 from $13. “It's time for a Ford breakout,” Jim Cramer said on Homestretch on Monday. Investors are set to get another update on the strength of Ford's business on April 24, when the automaker reports first-quarter 2024 numbers after the close. AMZN stock performance year to date. News: Amazon on Tuesday launched same-day prescription drug delivery for customers in New York City and the greater Los Angeles area. The service – offered through Amazon Pharmacy, which launched in 2020 – is part of the company's efforts to provide “the fastest and most convenient service for home delivery of prescriptions,” Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon Global Stores, said in a statement. press release. Amazon said medications for flu, diabetes and other common conditions are available through the service. To help provide fast delivery, Amazon said it is leveraging artificial intelligence to “help pharmacists dispense prescriptions quickly and accurately.” The e-commerce giant plans to expand its same-day drug delivery service to more than a dozen cities by the end of the year. The service is available to customers in Seattle, Miami, Indianapolis, Phoenix and Austin, Texas. Take the Club: Amazon's expansion into same-day delivery of prescription drugs is another sign of the company's focus on innovation in health care. We're always encouraged by efforts to enhance the value of a Prime subscription. Financially, Tuesday's announcement isn't really a needle mover. However, the ability to offer same-day delivery for prescriptions highlights Amazon's logistics and delivery prowess. For its traditional e-commerce business, the company has wisely streamlined its fulfillment network to reduce delivery times and overall cost of delivery, helping it make more money. Overall, we feel good about our position at Amazon, especially given its relationship with Nvidia in the AI space, as Jim explained in his column on Sunday. DIS stock performance since the beginning of the year until now. NEWS: Disney's newest board member, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, offered his perspective on the entertainment company's proxy battle in an interview with CNBC. “A lot of this fight seems to be looking back. I'm more interested in and why I joined the board looking forward,” Gorman said. His comments come ahead of Disney's annual meeting, scheduled for April 3, where Trian Partnership's Nelson Peltz is seeking a seat on the board alongside former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo. When pressed on the underperformance of Disney stock versus the broader market and its competitors in recent years, Gorman's justification was a “period of significant disruption in this industry” from linear to streaming while navigating through the difficult post-pandemic environment. With the return of CEO Bog Iger, the company is “changing that. And it shows in the stock's performance,” Gorman explained. Disney shares are up about 33% year to date, but the stock has significantly underperformed the S&P 500 over five years. In that time frame, its cumulative total return was 9.7% compared to 100.2% for the S&P 500, according to FactSet. The Club's Take: We've been supporting Peltz in his bid for two seats on the Disney board. We believe Peltz will be critical in creating shareholder value and reviving losses in the underperforming Disney business given his governance experience in consumer companies over the years such as Procter & Gamble, Wendy's, Heinz and Unilever. In our mind, the pressure Peltz has put on Disney through this proxy fight has actually helped galvanize management and contributed to the stock's strong recent performance. Disney shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday and closed at just under $120 per share. As discussed in the Monday morning meeting, we would consider reducing our position if we were not restricted, given the stock's year-to-date gains. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust long F, AMZN, DIS. See here for full list of stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you'll receive a trade alert before Jim takes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after a trade alert is sent before buying or selling a stock in his charitable fund's portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after the trade alert is issued before executing the trade. The above Investment Club information is subject to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, as well as our Disclaimer. No obligation or fiduciary duty exists or is created by your receipt of any information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or profits are guaranteed.
Ford CEO Jim Farley poses for a photo before announcing at a press conference that Ford Motor Company will partner with the world's largest battery company, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, to establish an electric vehicle battery factory in Marshall, Michigan, in February. October 13, 2023, in Romulus, Michigan.
Bill Puliano | Getty Images
ford motor It kept its 2024 guidance unchanged on Tuesday. while, AmazonPharmacy efforts added another wrinkle and DisneyThe newest member of 's board commented on the ongoing proxy battle at the entertainment giant. Here's a closer look at these headlines and our thoughts on each.
