Hackett to retire 1 October, Jim Farley to become CEOHere's a couple more pieces on the stock price and how his plan was to stay on the job in February. First from the IBD just in...
Doubts Over Ford's Restructuring Claim Second Straight CEO
Licensing
APARNA NARAYANAN
04:00 PM ET 08/04/2020
Ford Motor (F) CEO Jim Hackett will abruptly retire in the midst of an ambitious $11 billion restructuring, as Wall Street and investors fret it isn't happening fast enough. Ford stock rallied.
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Ford Stock Rallies
Shares rose 2.5% to 6.86 in Tuesday's stock market trading. Ford stock is forming a cup base with a 7.84 buy point within a larger consolidation, according to MarketSmith chart analysis. The consolidation has formed above the 50-day line but under the 200-day average. Rival General Motors (GM) added 0.6%.
Ford stock had been ailing even before the deadly virus outbreak. The No. 2 U.S. automaker had struggled under Hackett's leadership with the botched launches of the Ford Explorer and other key vehicles.
Ford suspended its quarterly stock dividend to conserve cash while partnering with Volkswagen (VWAGY) and Intel (INTC) unit Mobileye in a costly and challenging shift to electric and self-driving cars.
https://www.investors.com/news/ford-stock-rallies-ford-ceo-jim-hackett-retiring/
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Second from MarketWatch:
Here's how much Ford stock has lost under outgoing CEO Jim Hackett
Ford Motor Co. executive-suite drama reached a pinnacle on Tuesday with the surprise departure of Chief Executive Jim Hackett.
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Under Hacket, who took the reins in May 2017, the stock has lost nearly 40%.
Ford F, +2.54% shares rose on the news, and Ford stock on Tuesday topped a popularity chart among Robinhood app users. Ford stock has been among the most popular on Robinhood since the end of 2019.
"Hackett was an unorthodox CEO pick to begin with, as an external candidate with no prior auto industry experience, and his tenure was marred by a deteriorating bottom line, as F's adjusted EPS fell from $1.78 in 2017 to $1.19 in 2019," said analyst Garrett Nelson with CFRA. "While Ford's new vehicle lineup has shown some promise with the Mustang Mach-E and Bronco, we think Farley will have his work cut out to 'right the ship', as Ford remains in the middle of a multi-year restructuring."
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Ford under Hackett did a tad worse than Ford under Fields in terms of share performance and market valuation. The company's shares lost about 36% under Fields's leadership from 2014 to 2017.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-much-ford-stock-has-lost-under-outgoing-ceo-jim-hackett-2020-08-04
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Lastly, from CNBC:
Ford's Jim Hackett is out as CEO, to be succeeded by Jim Farley as restructuring plan fails to reignite stock
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/04/ford-ceo-jim-hackett-to-retire-as-stock-lags-automaker-taps-jim-farley.html
Since beginning to lead Ford in May 2017, Hackett, a former CEO of furniture company Steelcase, has done little to create confidence in the automaker on Wall Street — a reason his predecessor, Mark Fields, was ousted after a less than three-year tenure.
Jim Hackett, incoming chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co., left, and Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., laugh during an event at the company's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday, May 22, 2017.
Jeff Kowalsky | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of Ford are down about 40% under Hackett. The stock, which has a market value of $26.1 billion, is down 28% in 2020.
Hackett previously had not expressed any interest in retiring. In February, amid an executive shakeup, he said, "I plan on staying in this job." He cited a close relationship with Farley that would "realize the value" the company has been promising.
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Hackett has been criticized for his lack of transparency and leadership and for the execution of his multiyear restructuring plan that aimed to increase profitability by focusing on core products and all-electric and autonomous vehicles.
"Hackett had a shot. He was there for three years, not really a car guy," said David Kudla, CEO and chief investment strategist of Mainstay Capital Management in Grand Blanc, Michigan. "We struggled early on with what was his vision for the company."
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So there you have it. Not planned. He wanted to stay. Not a car guy. He was a file cabinet guy. Stock price a huge reason for his departure.Tue, 04 Aug 2020 23:03:19 +0000
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