Jefferies Upgrades Both Detroit Automakers
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Jefferies upgraded Ford Motor and General Motors to 'Buy' from 'Hold', citing improving U.S. market conditions, better capital allocation, and easing legacy costs. Target prices were raised for both: Ford to $17.50 and GM to $99. The firm highlighted GM's strong 2027 profitability outlook driven by new truck launches and efficiency gains, while viewing Ford's Q2 as a margin trough with normalized production.
Ford Motor rose 2.51% and General Motors 3.16% intraday after Jefferies upgraded both to Buy from Hold, raising its Ford target to $17.50 from $14.50 and its GM target to $99 from $90. Jefferies pointed to improving U.S. market conditions, better capital allocation and easing legacy costs at both companies.
The two calls rest on different evidence. GM's follows a second-quarter report that Jefferies said reinforced confidence in 2027 profitability and cash generation, with the firm now expecting more than $10 billion in annual free cash flow from that year on new truck launches, efficiency gains and digital services. It raised its 2026-2028 earnings estimates by around 6% and called the valuation attractive at roughly 5x expected 2027 earnings.
For Ford, Jefferies treats the second quarter as a margin trough with production normalizing after supply disruptions, and lifted its 2026 adjusted EBIT estimate to $10.3 billion, near the top of Ford's guided range. It expects second-quarter adjusted EBIT of about $2.5 billion on a 5.4% margin despite an estimated 10% drop in wholesale volumes.