Why Ford and General Motors Shares Are Moving Down Today

Ford Motor Company F and General Motors GM shares are trading lower in possible sympathy with Tesla TSLA, which fell after reporting a margin decline. Weakness in Tesla has weighed on EV-related stocks in today's session

What Happened: On Wednesday after market closure, Tesla reported its financials for Q1 2023. The company reported a drop in margins, following price cuts throughout the quarter. The operating margin was reported as 11.4% in the first quarter, which represents a margin decline compared to the same period last year (19%) and the fourth-quarter figure (16%).

Tesla reported quarterly sales of $23.33 billion compared to the analyst consensus estimate of $23.21 billion, and quarterly earnings of $0.85 per share falling in-line with analyst estimates. Despite this, the markets reacted negatively to unfavorable margin news Thursday, with Tesla stock seeing an 10.3% decline at the last check.

EV-related stocks slid today and yesterday as price cuts from Tesla fueled fears of a pricing war, potentially causing industry-wide downward margin pressure.

Price action: According to data from Benzinga Pro:

• Ford Motor stock was down 3.72%, trading at $11.77 at the time of publication.
• General Motors stock was down 3.95%, trading at $33.22 at the time of publication.

Image Courtesy of Ford Motor Company