Ford in Talks with Xiaomi for U.S. Market Entry
Catch up on the weekend's top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1) Ford (F) held discussions with Xiaomi (XIACF) over a partnership to help Chinese carmakers gain a foothold in the U.S., Demetri Sevastopulo, Christian Davies, Kana Inagaki, and Gloria Li of The Financial Times reports, citing four people familiar with the matter. During preliminary discussions, Ford explored forming a joint venture with Xiaomi to create EVs in the U.S., the sources added. Ford has also discussed with BYD (BYDDF) about a potential U.S. collaboration. 2) Oracle (ORCL) announced its full calendar year 2026 plan to fund the expansion of its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business. Oracle is raising money in order to build additional capacity to meet the contracted demand from its largest Oracle Cloud Infrastructure customers. Oracle expects to raise $45 to $50 billion of gross cash proceeds during the 2026 calendar year. The company plans to achieve its funding objective by using a balanced combination of debt and equity financing to maintain a solid investment-grade balance sheet. 3) Pharming (PHAR) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has issued a Complete Response Letter, CRL, to its supplemental New Drug Application, sNDA, for Joenja, an oral, selective phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta inhibitor, as a treatment for children aged 4 to 11 years with activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta syndrome, APDS, a rare primary immunodeficiency. The FDA raised an issue with the potential for underexposure in lower weight pediatric patients. As a result, the FDA has requested additional pediatric pharmacokinetic data to reassess the proposed pediatric doses and confirm that children in the lower weight dose groups can achieve exposure levels comparable to the approved adult and adolescent regimen. The letter also identified an issue with one of the analytical methods used for production batch testing, and the FDA requested additional data and clarification on this point. 4) Carlyle (CG) has started exploratory talks with UAE investors to bring in partners should its agreement to purchase Lukoil's international assets proceed, Shadia Nasralla and Anna Hirtenstein of Reuters reports, citing three sources with knowledge of the process. 5) Bain Capital (BCSF) has finalized plans to acquire FineToday in a deal set to be worth $1.29B, Reuters reports, citing Nikkei. CVC Capital Partners intends to divest all of FineToday's shares.
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- Ford Stock Appeal: Ford's shares trade at a forward P/E ratio of 9, attracting value investors, and its 4.23% dividend yield surpasses the 4.04% yield on 10-year Treasuries, making it appealing to income investors.
- EV Transition Challenges: Ford reported a massive $19.5 billion special charge in Q4 2025; however, its F-Series trucks remain the best-selling vehicles in America, indicating potential to maintain market leadership during its EV transition.
- Ferrari's Scarcity Strategy: Ferrari maintains market demand by limiting production, achieving a 9.6% compound annual growth rate in sales from 2015 to 2025, with expectations of 6.5% growth over the next three years, showcasing its strong pricing power in the luxury market.
- Profitability Comparison: Ferrari posted a 29.5% operating margin last year, significantly higher than Ford's 3%, indicating a more lucrative business model, leading investors to remain optimistic about its future growth.
- Ford's Attractive Valuation: Ford's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 9 has piqued the interest of value investors, particularly with a dividend yield of 4.23% that surpasses the 4.04% yield on 10-year Treasuries, making it appealing to income-focused investors.
- EV Transition Challenges: In 2025, Ford faced a significant $19.5 billion special charge, and while its Model e electric vehicle division is pivoting, the company struggles with a low operating margin of just 3%, indicating substantial operational challenges ahead.
- Ferrari's Scarcity Strategy: Ferrari aims to produce fewer cars than market demand, which enhances its luxury brand image and maintains robust demand, evidenced by an impressive 860% stock price increase over the past decade, showcasing its strong pricing power and market allure.
- Profitability Comparison: Ferrari achieved an operating margin of 29.5% last year, significantly outpacing Ford's low growth and weak profits, highlighting Ferrari's success in the luxury market and its potential for sustained revenue growth.
- Tariff Impact: Multiple rounds of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration cost Ford Motor Company about $2 billion and reduced General Motors' earnings by $3.1 billion, indicating significant pressure on automakers' profits.
- Financial Performance: Ford recorded $8.2 billion in losses for 2025, while GM earned $2.7 billion, down over 50% from $6 billion in 2024, reflecting a decline in overall industry profitability.
- Stock Price Recovery: Despite tariff challenges, Ford and GM saw their stock prices rise by 35% and 55% respectively, suggesting that market optimism regarding future tariff policies may have boosted investor confidence.
- Tariff Policy Changes: The U.S. Supreme Court struck down some tariffs, yet a 25% national security tariff remains a burden on the automotive sector; however, the newly announced 10% temporary import duty exempts automobiles, alleviating some industry pressure.
- American Airlines Decline: American Airlines Group's stock fell approximately 6.3% on Friday, with over 61.3 million shares traded, reflecting market concerns about the airline industry's recovery, which could negatively impact the company's short-term financial performance.
- Ford's Weak Performance: Ford Motor's stock decreased by about 1.9% during the same session, with trading volume exceeding 39.6 million shares, indicating investor caution regarding its future growth prospects, potentially leading to a decline in market confidence.
- XPO's Strong Performance: XPO was the best-performing component on Friday, rising by about 2.5%, suggesting market recognition of its business model, which may attract more investor interest.
- United Airlines Struggles: United Airlines Holdings lagged behind other ETF components, with a decline of approximately 8.6%, highlighting the challenges it faces in a competitive market, which could affect its market share and profitability.
- Market Volatility: On Friday afternoon, consumer stocks exhibited mixed performance, indicating divergent views among investors regarding the consumer goods sector, which may reflect uncertainty about the economic outlook.
- Selective Industry Preference: While overall consumer stocks showed mixed results, certain sub-sectors like consumer staples may attract investor interest, suggesting that defensive stocks remain appealing in uncertain economic conditions.
- Investor Sentiment: The volatility in the market may lead investors to adopt a more cautious approach when selecting consumer stocks, especially ahead of upcoming economic data releases, which could influence short-term trading strategies.
- Future Outlook: As economic data gradually becomes available, investors may reassess the investment value of consumer stocks, particularly in the context of inflation and interest rate changes, which could impact consumer spending and corporate earnings.
- Market Underperformance: Ford's total return of 86% over the past decade significantly lags behind the S&P 500's over 300% return, indicating a lack of competitive strength that may undermine investor confidence.
- EV Strategy Shift: Ford aims to increase the share of non-gas-powered vehicles in its global sales from 17% to 50% by 2030, despite incurring $19.5 billion in special charges last quarter due to weaker-than-expected demand, highlighting challenges in its transition to electric vehicles.
- Profitability Outlook: The Model e division is expected to become profitable by 2029, yet given its historical operating losses, market sentiment remains cautious regarding Ford's future profitability, which could impact stock performance.
- Ford Pro Business Highlight: Ford Pro showcases a double-digit operating margin by selling vehicles and related software to government and commercial clients, and if this segment continues to grow, it could enhance the stability of Ford's revenue mix over time.










