Goldman: Ford's Street-Beating Q1 Not a Sign of Significant Improvements

Ford Motor Co. (F) may have beat expectations with its first quarter results, but Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Barry doesn’t think the good news signals an improvement in the company operating outlook.

As a result, he hiked his earnings per share estimates for 2007, 2008 and 2009 by only US25￠ to a loss of US$1.75, a loss of US75￠ and a US50￠ gain respectively.

Mr. Barry’s price target on Ford shares remains at US$8, as does his “neutral” rating.

Going forward, he thinks the outcome of talks with the United Auto Workers union and progress with Ford’s restructuring are key drivers for the stock in 2007.

“We think restructuring will be slow given few potential ‘home run’ products in the pipeline,” Mr. Barry said in a note to clients. “And on Ford’s own timeline, global platforms provide little boost until 2009, despite years of purportedly implementing such global commonization.”