Has Ford Motor Company (F) Become the Perfect Stock?

The key to understanding Ford’s success is to realize that unlike competitors Chrysler and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) , Ford never declared bankruptcy, yet it managed to restructure itself more successfully. With huge production levels at its U.S. factories and a wide range of globally viable vehicles available, Ford has turned things around at home impressively. Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) and Honda Motor Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:HMC) have taken notice, even as they’ve managed to bounce back from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in early 2011 to regain lost ground in the U.S. market.

Moreover, China has been a big winner for Ford. The company saw sales nearly double in the emerging-market nation in January, with popular vehicles like its two Focus models and its Escape-clone Kuga SUV doing quite well there. Ford hasn’t done quite as well in India, where Tata Motors Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TTM) still has a big edge and has captured the low-end market, but it has planted the seeds to benefit as that market matures.

In its most recent quarterly report, Ford’s results showed the differences in the regions that the automaker serves. The company posted a pre-tax profit of $1.7 billion for the quarter, but most of that came from strength in North America. For the full year, Ford lost $1.75 billion in 2012 and expects to lose another $2 billion there this year. But if the One Ford plan does as well in Europe as it did elsewhere, then Ford may well fare much better than GM in Europe in the long run.

For Ford to keep improving, it needs to work on finding ways to get revenue growth moving in the right direction. That probably means jump-starting Europe, and while that may take a while, it’s the key toward getting Ford closer to perfection in the years ahead.

The article Has Ford Become the Perfect Stock? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors and owns shares of Ford.

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