Yes, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) can afford its dividend, because the $6.1 billion trailing-year loss is mostly paper while the payout is paid in cash. The dividend costs about $2.4 billion a year, and management expects $5 billion to $6 billion of adjusted free cash flow in 2026. That leaves the payout consuming under half of it.
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But the loss deserves an explanation. Ford lost $8.2 billion in 2025, but that figure included $9.4 billion of noncash write-downs tied to walking back its electric vehicle plans. Those are accounting charges on factories and programs, not cash going out the door. The cash statements told a different story, with operating cash flow of $21.3 billion last year and adjusted free cash flow of $3.5 billion.
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