Ford 2014 Annual Report Download - page 81

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Total Company
Equity. At December 31, 2014, Total equity attributable to Ford Motor Company was $24.8 billion, a decrease of
$1.3 billion compared with December 31, 2013. The decrease primarily reflects unfavorable changes in Accumulated
other comprehensive income/(loss) of $1.8 billion (more than explained by unfavorable pension and OPEB adjustments);
unfavorable changes in Treasury stock of about $300 million related to net stock repurchases and re-issuances; and
unfavorable changes in Capital in excess of par value of stock of about $300 million related to convertible note debt
settlement net of compensation-related equity issuances; offset partially by favorable changes in Retained earnings of
$1.2 billion related to full-year 2014 Net income attributable to Ford Motor Company of $3.2 billion, net of cash dividends
declared of $2 billion.
Credit Ratings. Our short-term and long-term debt is rated by four credit rating agencies designated as nationally
recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
• DBRS Limited (“DBRS”);
• Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”);
• Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”); and
• Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of McGraw Hill Financial (“S&P”).
In several markets, locally-recognized rating agencies also rate us. A credit rating reflects an assessment by the
rating agency of the credit risk associated with a corporate entity or particular securities issued by that entity. Rating
agencies’ ratings of us are based on information provided by us and other sources. Credit ratings assigned to us from all
of the NRSROs are closely associated with their opinions on Ford. Credit ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell, or
hold securities, and are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating agency
may have different criteria for evaluating company risk and, therefore, ratings should be evaluated independently for each
rating agency.
The following rating actions were taken by these NRSROs since September 30, 2014:
• On October 1, 2014, Fitch affirmed its ratings for Ford and Ford Credit, and maintained a positive outlook for both.
• On October 29, 2014, DBRS affirmed its ratings for Ford and Ford Credit, and maintained a stable outlook for both.
• On December 16, 2014, Moody’s affirmed its ratings for Ford, and maintained a stable outlook.
• On January 27, 2015, Moody’s affirmed its ratings for Ford Credit, and maintained a stable outlook.
The following chart summarizes certain of the credit ratings and outlook presently assigned by these four NRSROs:
NRSRO RATINGS
Ford Ford Credit NRSROs
Issuer
Default /
Corporate /
Issuer Rating
Long-Term
Senior
Unsecured
Outlook /
Trend
Long-Term
Senior
Unsecured
Short-Term
Unsecured
Outlook /
Trend
Minimum
Long-Term
Investment
Grade Rating
DBRS BBB (low) BBB (low) Stable BBB (low) R-3 Stable BBB (low)
Fitch BBB- BBB- Positive BBB- F3 Positive BBB-
Moody’s N/A Baa3 Stable Baa3 P-3 Stable Baa3
S&P * BBB- BBB- Stable BBB- A-3 Stable BBB-
__________
* S&P assigns FCE a long-term senior unsecured credit rating of BBB, a one-notch higher rating than Ford and Ford Credit, with a stable outlook.
75