Ford and GM Stock Jump on Upgrades. Chrysler, Not So Much. -- Barrons.com

By Al Root

Things are looking up for two-thirds of the Detroit Three car makers. Ford Motor and General Motors picked up a ratings upgrade on Monday. Chrysler-parent Stellantis, however, got a cut.

Over the weekend, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois upgraded shares of Ford and GM to Buy from Hold. His Ford price target went to $17.50, up from $14.50. His GM price target rose to $99 from $90.

Ford stock gained 2.2%, closing at $14.68 on Monday. GM shares jumped 5.3% to $87.04. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively.

Houchois said GM and Ford are both poised to earn consistent profits in the North American automotive "oligopoly."

An oligopoly is an industry dominated by a few large firms. The car market isn't a classic oligopoly. Car companies don't earn great profit margins, and there are a lot of auto makers. But the barriers to entry are high -- partly due to tariffs -- leaving North America as the best, relatively protected car market in the world.

Ford Motor is also set to report earnings later this week, and Houchois says Ford could raise its outlook. Ford expects to make about $9.5 billion in 2026 operating profit, up from $6.8 billion earned in 2025.

Things aren't looking as great for European and Chinese auto makers, with more competition eroding profits. Monday, Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter downgraded Stellantis stock to Sell from Hold. His price target dropped to $4 from $14.

Things will get worse before they get better for the Chrysler parent, now based in Europe. Chinese competition, labor pressures, and even artificial-intelligence-trained robo-taxis are putting pressure on the company.

Amid all that pressure, Stellantis is trying to pull off a turnaround under new CEO Antonio Filosa, who took over after Carlos Tavares in 2025. Stellantis earned about $25 billion in operating profit in 2023, its best year in recent history. It's expected to earn less than $4 billion in 2026 as it works to reduce U.S. dealer inventories and update its product lineup.

Stellantis stock was down most of the day, but closed at $5.70, up 0.2%.

Overall, just 29% of analysts covering Stellantis stock rate shares Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for S&P 500 stocks ranges from about 55% to 60%. The average analyst price target for Stellantis stock is about $7.40.

For Ford, 30% of analysts rate shares Buy. The average price target is about $15.

GM is the most popular of the Detroit Three on Wall Street. Almost 80% of analysts rate the shares Buy. The average price target is about $101.

Coming into Monday trading, GM stock was up 55% over the past 12 months. Ford stock was up 27%. Stellantis shares were down 39%.

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

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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July 27, 2026 16:18 ET (20:18 GMT)