About 70% of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT)’s tire units are targeted at the replacement market and 30% for original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The nice thing about this is that margins on replacement tires are typically higher than for original equipment tires.
Goodyear has also managed to extend its debt maturities, with no funded debt maturities until 2014, and no long-term debt due until 2016. Billionaire David Tepper is one of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT)’s largest hedge fund shareholders (check out Tepper’s top picks).
Competitive landscape
Two of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ:GT)’s major competitors include Bridgestone and Michelin. These three companies account for about 55% of the global market. Meanwhile, its other significant competitor includes Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE:CTB) Cooper saw revenue decline 2% in 2012, thanks to lower volume, but the tire company managed to post EPS of $0.87 compared to $0.34 for the same quarter last year and well above consensus forecasts of $0.69. Part of Cooper’s big initiative is higher production related to its 51% ownership of Cooper Chengshan in China.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) had more hedge fund interest than Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), with 110 hedge funds long the stock. Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) has the most valuable position in the stock, worth $695 million (check out Buffett’s cheap stock picks).
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) for full year 2013 expects industry volume of 16 million units, compared with 14.8 million units in 2012. As well, the company expects its 2013 market share in the U.S. to be higher than 2012.
This should help boost Ford’s total revenue to increase 10% in 2013, thanks to U.S. and China growth. Ford is and should continue benefiting from rapid product introductions. As well, both Ford and GM trade at a discount to their Japanese counterparts. Ford trades at 10 times earnings, GM at 11 times, while Honda is at 19.6 times and Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) 25 times.
Going into the second quarter, there were a total of 47 hedge funds long the stock, after a 23% decrease from one quarter earlier. Billionaire David Tepper of Appaloosa Management has the largest position in Ford, worth close to $154 million (see Appaloosa’s top picks).
Bottom line
Marshall Hargrave has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford. Marshall is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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