With first quarter results coming in, car and semiconductor companies are commenting on the microchip shortage which is hampering global auto production. The comments, however, don’t appear to be matching up. While chip makers’ comments are setting off alarms, car makers—whose stocks are mostly off to a great start in 2021—are downplaying the problem.
A lack of microchips that make modern cars function has resulted in unplanned downtime for many auto makers. Ford Motor (ticker: F), for instance, said it was extending outages at three assembly plants Thursday.Terrence Curtin, CEO of electrical component supplier TE Connectivity (TEL) toldBarron’s this week that roughly 1 million cars weren’t built in the first quarter because of the shortage. That is about 5% of global auto output. And General Motors (GM) called the shortage a billion dollar headwind to 2021 operating profits when the company reported fourth quarter numbers earlier this year.
Auto stocks, however, have been largely unaffected by the issue. GM and Ford shares, for instance, are both up 36% year to date. Parts suppliers TE and BorgWarner (BWA) are up 9% and 28%, respectively. Car dealer Auto Nation (AN) stock is also on fire as well, up about 38% so far in 2021.
Demand is strong, rebounding from the 2020 pandemic-induced recession. The optimism for higher sales in 2021 and 2022 is trumping any concern about near term disruption. But the disruption might get worse before it gets better and auto investors will have to square that reality with their outlooks as more company report first quarter numbers.
Ford is set to report earnings April 28. GM follows on May 5. Daimler (DAI.Germany), for its part, reported first quarter numbers Friday. Things still look good. Car sales rose, product mix was favorable and profitability improved. Management doesn’t sound too worried about microchips. “The impact from semiconductor shortage was not very material in the first quarter,” said CFO Harald Wilhelm on an investor call. Second quarter impacts are possible, but “we anticipate to recover part of the lost volumes by the end of the year.”
Daimler stock is down 1.1% in overseas trading. Year to date, share are up about 28%.
Stellantis (STLA) CEO Carlos Tavares sounded a little more cautious in an April 15 conference noting that production impacts would extend into the second half of 2021 and that “visibility on the speed at which this is going to be fixed is reasonably low right now.”
Along with some auto makers, Intel (INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) have also reported first quarter results. Taiwan Semi went first, saying the automotive shortage should be “greatly reduced” by the third quarter of 2021.
Resolution is good news, but Q3 is a little later than auto companies expected at the beginning of the year. Intel management was a little more cautious on their earnings conference call. They said the shortage might stretch on for longer than investors currently expect. “The industry is now challenged by a shortage of foundry capacity, substrates and components,” commented CEO Patrick Gelsinger Thursday evening. “It will take a couple of years for the ecosystem to make the significant investments to address these shortages.”
Investors should get ready to hear more about shortages extending deeper into 2021. The stocks won’t get a pass unless companies keep putting up good numbers like Diamler. Auto suppler Gentex (GNTX), for instance, missed first quarter sales estimates because of the shortage. The company reported $484 million in first quarter sales Friday. Wall Street was looking for $491 million. Gentex management estimated that $45 million in sales was lost due to the shortage.
Gentex shares are down about 1% in early trading. That isn’t a big move, but it is a wobble with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.
The chip issue isn’t going away. And it will remain a watch item for auto investors, who aren’t use to thinking about foundries and substrates, as Intel’s Gelsinger put it.