Milton put the word’s into the Devil’s mouth: "It is better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven." That must be Alan Mulally’s feeling since joining Ford (F) and leaving Boeing (BA). Since then, Ford’s stock is down about 3% (it was already off a ton for the previous year. Boeing is rocketing. It stock is up 15% over the same period since October. The Dow is up 5%.
But, the news of the last two days must bring Mulally a sense of dismay. Ford’s US sales fell 19% in January putting it behind Toyota (TM) and DaimlerChrysler (DCX) as well as GM (GM). Of course, Ford also announced at $12.7 billion lose for 2006.
Of course, Mr. Mulally did not have the top job at Boeing. But, he was close. Boeing announced a strong Q4 and forecast big gains for the next two years. The stock hit a 52-week high at $92.24.
And so, Mr. Mulally can look back on his decision. He may fly Ford into a mountain, and sooner rather than later. Falling sales will not be able to keep up with cost cuts and job eliminations forever. He can point to his predecessor Bill Ford as the villain, but he will still be on board when things get bad.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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