5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Surp(rise)

2. Bumpy road ahead

Ford Motor President and CEO Jim Farley talks about the Mustang GTD during the press day of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. September 13, 2023.

Rebecca Cook | Reuters

Ford Motor topped Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations Wednesday, but the automaker cautioned that 2025 won’t be a smooth ride. The company said its guidance for the year ahead “presumes headwinds related to market factors,” including 2% industry lower pricing and slightly lower wholesales. But there’s one thing Ford didn’t consider in its forecast: additional tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. “We’re going to let this run itself out so we can better understand the potential impacts on our business,” Ford CFO Sherry House said Wednesday, noting the current pause on the Mexico and Canada tariffs. Shares of the automaker dropped more than 5% in extended trading.

3. Deleting DEI

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 01: Sundar Pichai, C.E.O., Google Inc. speaks at the New York Times DealBook conference on November 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Stephanie Keith | Getty Images News | Getty Images

4. Fed fears

Austan Goolsbee speaking at Jackson Hole on Aug. 23, 2024.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

In a break from their typical avoidance of commenting on fiscal policy, Federal Reserve officials in recent days have expressed warnings about the potential impact Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs may have on inflation. “If we see inflation rising or progress stalling in 2025, the Fed will be in the difficult position of trying to figure out if the inflation is coming from overheating or if it’s coming from tariffs,” Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Wednesday, noting that the distinction will be critical in the central bank’s interest rate decision making.

5. Prognosis mixed

The Eli Lilly & Co. logo at the company’s Digital Health Innovation Hub facility in Singapore, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.

Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shares of Eli Lilly were slightly higher in premarket trading Thursday after the drugmaker reported mixed results for its fourth quarter. The results, which were in line with the company’s preliminary figures shared in January, come after Eli Lilly slashed its 2024 revenue guidance last month, saying demand for its weight loss and diabetes drugs would not meet its expectations. Fellow pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb also reported fourth-quarter results before the bell, posting a beat on the top and bottom lines. Bristol Myers Squibb shares were nearly 5% lower, though, after the company’s full-year guidance fell short of analysts’ expectations. Bristol Myers Squibb is also expanding its cost savings effort, saying it will cut $2 billion in costs by the end of 2027.