Ford's New Battery Plan Has Its Stock on a Tear

Ford's hottest product right now isn't a Bronco or an F-150—it's a battery business that doesn't power cars at all. The Wall Street Journal reports shares of Ford have jumped 28% in two weeks, closing Tuesday at a high ($15.32) not seen since 2023. The driver? The automaker's new energy-storage unit, Ford Energy. Three things to know:

• CNET reports the subsidiary will manufacture and sell shipping container-sized stationary storage systems intended for AI data centers, utilities, and industrial customers—putting Ford in a category with players like Tesla and LG Energy Solution, per the Journal.
• A Morgan Stanley estimate that the new arm, launched with a $2 billion investment, could ultimately be worth $10 billion helped spark the rally, as did Ford's tie-up with Chinese battery giant CATL, whose technology Ford is licensing for its battery-making plants. Reuters explains Ford will convert a Kentucky plant that was earmarked for EV battery production to make its DC Block product.

• Ford Energy isn't expected to come online until late 2027, and analysts say Ford still needs several large contracts beyond a planned 4-gigawatt-hour-a-year deal with EDF to hit its goal of delivering at least 20 gigawatt hours of storage capacity annually.