Ford Stock Can’t Catch a Break. The Recalls Just Keep Coming.

Ford has recalled about 7 million cars in 2025 in more than 100 separate notices. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg)

Ford Motor recalled more cars recently, adding to this year’s record total.

Recalls are part of the car business, and don’t typically impact stock prices, but the volume of Ford’s recalls might be preventing a stock breakout.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, the agency that manages auto recalls, recently posted a notice recalling 105,441 2024 and 2025 model year Mustangs. “License plate, side marker, and tail lights that fail to illuminate as intended can reduce visibility to other drivers,” reads part of the notice.

The cars will need to be returned to a dealer for inspection. That’s typical for many recalls.

Ford stock rose 0.5% on Friday, closing at $11.77, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively.

There is no good reason for investors to sell Ford stock due to a single recall. Investors, however, might be increasingly concerned with quality and its impact on Ford’s financials.

Ford has recalled about 7 million cars in 2025 in more than 100 separate notices. The number of cars is a record for any auto maker in any year, according to Barron’s analysis of NHTSA’s recall database.

The costs are starting to add up. Ford took a $600 million special charge in the second quarter related to a fuel injector recall. What’s more, Ford shares dipped 18% in late July 2024 after the company missed Wall Street’s second-quarter earnings expectations, partly because warranty expenses were up $800 million compared with the first quarter.

Ford shares have been performing much better lately, after some early 2025 tariff-induced volatility. Coming into Friday trading, Ford stock was up about 15% over the past three months.

Shares, however, can’t seem to move above $12, which would be a sign of a stock breakout, a term used by technical analysts and traders to signal a positive change in investor sentiment.

Technical analysts aren’t concerned with business fundamentals. They use stock charts and market history to understand how stocks trade and when investors are starting to get more bullish, or bearish, on a company’s shares.

If Ford can get above $12, it could run to $13.50 by year’s end, says Barron’s technical stock market analyst Douglas Busch.

That’s the potential upside, if Ford can get past some of its quality issues.

Busch sees more upside for General Motors shares, too. They have the potential to hit $70 by year’s end. GM shares closed up 0.2% at $58.60 on Friday.

Ford stock has lagged a little bit behind its Detroit peer lately. GM stock has gained about 20% over the past three months. In recent years, GM made more of its U.S.-sold vehicles outside the country, mainly in Mexico and South Korea, and was hit harder than Ford by President Donald Trump’s sectoral tariffs, so it bounced back more as tariff fears subsided.

GM projects a roughly $4.5 billion hit from tariffs in 2025. Ford’s estimate is closer to $2 billion. With investors understanding tariffs and the impact on Ford and GM’s profits, investors have been less fearful of adding to new positions.

GM stock looks like it’s on its way. Ford stock might need a little push. Some good news on quality could be that shove.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com