Should You Buy Ford Stock Under $15 in October? Here's Why Investors Should Pump the Brakes.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is one of America's oldest industrial names. Henry Ford, who founded the business in 1903, perfected the moving assembly line. This enabled mass production of his first automobile, the Model T.

The company has evolved, and now it operates three key segments. Ford Blue sells gas and hybrid vehicles. Ford Pro serves commercial customers. And Ford Model e is the electric vehicle (EV) division.

The automotive stock has been volatile. And it has traded down 6% in 2026 (as of Oct. 15). Now under $15 per share, is it time you add Ford to your portfolio?

This is a historic business. But here's why investors should pump the brakes.

Executives misallocated shareholder capital

Ford was burning money for years within its EV segment. Operating losses totaled almost $15 billion from the start of 2023 through the end of 2025.

Industry EV demand was trending weaker than anticipated in the U.S. Even Tesla, the disruptor that popularized premium EVs globally, has felt the pain in recent years. Its automotive sales were a reported $20.5 billion in Q2 (ended June 30). That is essentially flat compared to Q4 2022.

Last December, Ford recorded a material charge related to its EV reset. "As a result, Ford expects to record about $19.5 billion in special items, the majority in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the remainder in 2026 and 2027," the December 2025 press release read. "As part of these special items, the company expects approximately $5.5 billion in cash effects, with the majority paid in 2026 and the remainder in 2027."

This charge hit the financial statements in different ways. There were asset impairments and write-downs in the Model e segment. Ford ended its battery joint venture with SK On, which was a $6 billion hit to operating income. And there were billions in restructuring expenses.

Ford's management deserves some credit for making the tough decision to cut its losses and scale back its EV ambitions. The goal was to align the business in the best way possible for future success. And to add to the positive tone, legacy peers have also had to restructure their EV operations. So, this wasn't just a Ford problem.

However, investors are right to view this as a gigantic waste of capital. That $19.5 billion amounts to 40% of the company's entire market capitalization.

This is a brutal industry

Of course, Ford's leadership team didn't act with malicious intent. It's not like they woke up one day and decided to direct capital on wasteful projects. They surely believed that EVs were going to rapidly take market share for a very long time. And they tried to position the company to capture what they thought was a sizable opportunity.

But the EV strategic pivot, and resulting financial misstep, highlights how brutal the mass-market auto industry can be. It's accurate to say that Ford is a low-quality and risky business to own. It must constantly spend huge sums on capital expenditures just to maintain its competitive position. During the three-year period from 2015 to 2018, at a time of low 72-month auto loan rates, its capex totaled over $21 billion. However, net income was cut in half from 2015 to 2018.

And when it does try to go on the offensive, as it attempted with the Model e segment, it has to accurately predict which way the market is going. That's a multiyear and multibillion-dollar endeavor. When it doesn't work out, it's a costly mistake.

The valuation is cheap right now, if that means anything. The stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 7. And for what it's worth, Ford is repurposing some of those EV assets to capture strong AI-related battery demand. At scale, this isn't going to drive meaningful profit, though.

Even under $15 per share, Ford is best avoided.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.