Ford is on track for its worst day since 2009 after disappointing earnings caused a decline in auto sales.

• Major U.S. automotive stocks are experiencing a decline, with Ford being the leader, due to missing Wall Street's bottom-line earnings for the second quarter.
• On Thursday, Ford's shares experienced a decline of over 17% in early trading, matching their worst drop since 2009.
• This week, both General Motors and Stellantis reported disappointing results, falling short of expectations.

This week, major U.S. automotive stocks are declining, with Detroit leading the way, due to disappointing results and investor doubts about future performance.

On Thursday, Ford's shares plummeted by more than 17% in early trading, heading towards their worst decline since 2009, after failing to meet Wall Street's earnings expectations due to ongoing warranty issues.

After reporting their results this week, shares of and were notably off, while shares of, which reported results Tuesday afternoon, were up slightly Thursday after their largest daily decline since 2020 on Wednesday.

The traditional "Detroit" automakers, including Ford, GM, and Stellantis, were penalized primarily due to their own individual problems, rather than industry-wide uncertainty.

Despite a 7% decline in GM's stock price this week, the company exceeded Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter and raised its annual guidance. Wall Street was impressed with the quarter, but investors were concerned about the slowdown in growth businesses, the potential for declining growth in the second half of the year, and the possibility that the automaker's earnings power had reached its peak.

CEO Carlos Tavares announced "disappointing" first half results for Stellantis on Thursday morning, mainly because of ongoing problems in its North American operations.

The company's NYSE-listed shares dropped by almost 10% in the morning, reaching a 52-week low of $17.57 per share.

Stellantis has reaffirmed its 2024 guidance, which includes a double-digit adjusted operating income margin, positive industrial free cash flow, and at least 7.7 billion euros in capital return to investors in the forms of dividends and buybacks, despite ongoing problems.

"Tavares stated that the industry is extremely challenging and the current period is particularly tough. As a result, everyone must strive for excellence. To achieve this, we must put in a lot of effort."

Despite coming in 21 cents below adjusted earnings per share expectations, Ford executives reconfirmed their 2024 guidance after reporting an additional $800 million in unexpected warranty costs compared with the prior quarter.

Ford's 2024 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) are projected to be between $10 billion and $12 billion.

Despite the frustration expressed by several Wall Street analysts over Ford's rising warranty costs, many were still hopeful about the company's strong business operations.

Despite a standout quarter by General Motors, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas maintained Ford as his top pick while downgrading GM from overweight to equal weight.

Despite significant losses in EVs, Cruise, and China, impressive results were achieved, according to Jonas in a GM investor note. However, history suggests that the good times may not last.

Jonas stated that although the firm believes there is more potential upside in Ford, their conviction is being tested by ongoing challenges, many of which they believe are within management's control.

On Wednesday, Tesla's shares fell 12% after the company reported lower-than-anticipated quarterly earnings and a decline in automotive revenue.

– CNBC's Michael Bloom and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.