Ford Motor Co. offers a forward dividend yield of about 4.6%, but Motley Fool contributor Thomas Niel says it is not a strong long-term pick for dividend-focused investors: Ford has suspended its dividend twice, and its special payouts are difficult to predict.
Ford suspended its dividend in 2007 ahead of the Great Recession and again in 2020 after the COVID-19 outbreak; it restored the payout within two years in the latter case, while the earlier suspension lasted more than five years. The regular dividend is 15 cents per share quarterly. Motley Fool cites a 30.6% forward payout ratio and Ford's 2026 adjusted free-cash-flow guidance of $6 billion to $7 billion; at about 4 billion shares, annual dividends of 60 cents per share would equal 34%–40% of that cash flow.
Niel says inflation, the rollback of Ford's vehicle-electrification pivot and tariffs have weighed on profitability and share performance. If those pressures ease and Ford reports positive GAAP earnings in 2026 and 2027, he says shares trading at seven times forward earnings could command a higher multiple. He also flags the business's cyclicality, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and Ford's weak record of dividend growth.
