A softer fourth-quarter didn't hurt Ford Motor Company's 2016 financial performance, the company said Thursday, as it announced revenue improvements from its previous record year.

Net income was $4.6 billion, with an adjusted pre-tax company profit of $10.4 billion. Those totals are the Michigan-based company's second best in its history, said President and CEO Mark Fields.

"This underscores the substantial progress we are making in expanding our business to be an auto and a mobility company," Fields said in a release. "This year, we're focused on building on our strengths, transforming underperforming parts of our business and investing in the emerging opportunities that will provide even more profitable growth in the future."

The results are enough to send Ford's second-best profit sharing checks ever to 56,000 hourly employees in the U.S.: About $9,000.

Its North American operations included a full-year operating margin of 9.7 percent and pre-tax profit of $9.0B. Market share dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 13.9 percent.

And in a sign of light vehicle purchasing trends toward larger SUVs that carry a higher price tag, average fourth quarter retail transaction prices were $1,400 per vehicle higher compared to a year ago, almost four times the industry average increase, Ford said.

Globally, Ford's performance ranged from record profits of $1.2 billion and operating margins in Europe to a $1 billion decline in revenue in South America, "due to economic environment." The Middle East and Africa were described as "challenging," while the Asia Pacific market reported its second-best pre-tax profit at $627 million.

Ford Credit, the company's lending arm, reporting a $207 million dip in pre-tax profits, coming in at $1.9 billion.

The outlook for Ford Credit calls for that to fall to $1.5 billion in 2017, "due to expected lower U.S. auction values."

That's a sign of the number of leased vehicles returned by consumers. Leasing in the U.S. represents about 30 percent of all sales, but with high supply on the used car market, values are falling during the term of the lease.

Ford continues to push its growth from an automotive company to a mobility company. It's innovation campus in Palo Alto, California, opened in 2015, and it recently announced a $700 million investment in Michigan that will increase production in Flat Rock - including an autonomous vehicle.

The company also plans $4.5 billion in investment in electric vehicle development and production, while it also spends $1.2 billion to transform its Dearborn headquarters into a walkable, high-tech hub.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] stock closed at $12.79 on Wednesday, January 25, giving it a value of $50.8 billion. Full-year earnings per share were reported at $1.15, down $0.69 from a year ago, according to the company.