Big New Expansion at Ford’s Louisville Plant Sends Ford Stock (NYSE:F) Jumping

The Louisville plant has been one of the strangest plant developments out of legacy automaker Ford (F) in quite some time. With some reports basically calling it everything short of a death trap while other reports suggest that other companies were looking to buy time on that plant as well, the exact nature of that plant was, at best, clouded. And now, the picture is about to get even murkier as new reports note a planned expansion effort in Louisville. But investors were all too happy to hear about it, and they sent shares jumping up nearly 3% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.

The latest word on said expansion notes that three building projects will be part of the overall effort, and between the three, account for 52,000 square feet of operation, or well over an acre of space. Six new dock positions will be created, and three docks replaced, which accounts for 10,000 square feet. An EV charging station with 16 charging units and a substation, all covered by a canopy, will add 12,000 square feet. And, the remaining 30,000 square feet will go for newly-minted dock space.

There will indeed be some layoffs during the construction effort, noted word from Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862. Times of those layoffs, however, were not disclosed. It is also important to note that the Louisville plant is one of just three plants throughout the United States with a “guaranteed EV product.”

Ford’s F1 Racing Future

On a lighter note, new reports came out about Ford’s involvement in the F1 2026 racing season. It recently started up its new alliance with Red Bull, and acknowledged that there was some “risk” involved in doing so. One of the biggest issues is a set of regulations that have changed, making for significant issues in getting the racers up to snuff. Regardless, notes the director of Ford Performance Mark Rushbrook, Ford is in on F1 for the long haul.

And, reports note, Ford will likely also have to start considering electric operations to stay in the F1 hunt. Reports note that some amount of electrification will be part of the deal, especially in light of the aforementioned rule changes about engine and chassis figures. Still though, this is a good way for Ford to branch out into electric vehicle development and keep to its credo of “No Boring Cars.”

Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 14.62% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.71 per share implies 8.27% downside risk.

See more F analyst ratings

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