How Ford Credit Shrugged Off Leasing Worries and Boosted Profit 55%

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) reported last week that its second-quarter net income rose almost 4% from a year ago, to just over $2 billion.

Ford's profit was helped out by a tax break, and that fact pushed its stock down rather than up after the earnings news was released. But Ford did have some genuine good news to report behind the headlines, particularly in Ford Credit. The pre-tax profit in Ford's financial services arm rose to $619 million, up 55% from a year ago.

That was a pleasant surprise, given that Ford's prior guidance for 2017 had called for Ford Credit's profit to decline over the course of the year. So why was it up?

Source: Fool.com