A SWOT analysis is a look at a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and is a tremendous way to gain a detailed and thorough perspective on a company and its future. Fresh of an shaky third quarter earnings report, in which the company reported a fall in revenue and income, yet forecasted higher than expected forecasts, I would like to pinpoint on one of the companies that built America into the industrial giant that it is today, the Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F).
Strengths:
Stability and Predictability: The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and has been serving the world’s consumers with quality automobiles for decades, and will not be going away any time soon
Brand Recognition and Loyalty: The iconic Ford logo is known by nearly every person in the world, and many potential car buyers flock to their brand because of their long track record of producing quality cars
Recovering Sales Growth: The company’s sales have taken a major hit over the past 5 years, going from nearly $150,000 million in 2007, to an estimated $125,000 million in 2012, however the sales slide has seemed to bottom and is projected to reach 2007 levels by 2016
Dividend: Ford had a tremendous track record of dividend payouts, until when in 2006 they halted payouts, however they have resumed their dividend program and currently pay out quarterly dividends of $0.05, which annualized puts the company’s dividend as yielding 1.83%
Global Presence: The company sells vehicles in 180 countries around the world, and has a presence so strong it would take a cataclysmic shift in the automotive industry to derail their success
Weaknesses:
Saturated Nature of Business: The company has a presence in nearly every country in the world, so there may not be much run left to run
Recent Disappointment: When the company reported third quarter results they reported year over year revenues falling 3.2%, and