Ford Motor Co. beat Wall Street’s expectations in the second quarter as it chalked up a record profit in North America and made money in Europe for the first time in three years.
But things will get leaner in the second half as Ford closes one of its U.S. pickup truck plants to prepare for its new aluminum-sided F-150 and spends more on materials and advertising. Ford, which earned $3.9 billion before taxes in the first half of this year, confirmed it expects full-year earnings of $7 billion to $8 billion. That’s down from $8.6 billion in 2013.
