DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. posted results on Thursday that were not as grim as expected for its second quarter that saw its U.S. factories shuttered for half the period to combat the spread of the coronavirus and car buyers sheltering in place.

Ford reported a $1.12 billion second-quarter net profit, pushed into the black by a $3.5 billion gain on the value of its stake in the Argo AI autonomous vehicle operation.

Without the one-time gain, the company lost $1.9 billion, or a 35 cents per share. But that was far better than the $1.17 a share loss Wall Street had expected, according to FactS...