LG Energy Solution Shares Fall After Ford Cancels Contract

By Kwanwoo Jun

LG Energy Solution's shares slumped Thursday after Ford Motor cancelled an estimated $6.5 billion contract to purchase electric-vehicle batteries from the company.

The South Korean EV battery maker's stock fell as much as 7.6% to 384,000 won, equivalent to $260.28, in early Seoul trading, on course for the sharpest daily decline in nearly two months.

The stock was recently 6.7% lower, underperforming the benchmark Kospi's 1.4% decline.

Ford canceled the battery contract with LG Energy Solution worth around 9.6 trillion won, a move tied to the U.S. auto maker's decision to stop producing some of its EV models.

The contract was set to run from 2027 to 2032.

The cancellation is expected to affect LG Energy Solution's operations in Europe, where it was supposed to supply 75 gigawatt-hours of EV batteries to Ford under the scrapped deal, said analysts at Samsung Securities.

"As it is not easy to secure new orders immediately to replace the corresponding volume, the improvement in the operating rate of European factories in 2027 is inevitably being delayed more than expected," analysts Cho Hyun-ryul and Kim Won-young said in a note Thursday.

LG's factory utilization rate in Europe could fall to 29% from an estimated 45% currently, they said.

Samsung Securities cut its target price for LG Energy Solution by 13% to 480,000 won while maintaining a hold rating on the stock.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2025 21:42 ET (02:42 GMT)