GM Stock Rises on Earnings Beat, Guidance Boost

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Key Takeaways

• General Motors exceeded first-quarter profit and revenue estimates as its net income from North American operations jumped.
• CEO Mary Barra noted the North American unit’s pricing has been steady and sales incentives were much lower than the industry average.
• The biggest U.S. automaker also raised its full-year earnings guidance.

General Motors (GM) shares surged in intraday trading Tuesday after the biggest U.S. automaker posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its guidance on powerful North American sales, driven by demand for gas-powered pickup trucks.

The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.62, with revenue rising 7.6% to $43.01 billion. Both exceeded estimates.

Net income from its North American operations increased 7.4% to $3.84 billion. That helped offset a $10 million loss from its international business, which registered a $347 million profit a year ago. GM also took a $442 million loss from its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit after the company paused operations and slashed jobs last year following an accident in San Francisco.

The market share for GM trucks went to 31.1% from 29.8% a year earlier.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra said that in North America, GM delivered double-digit profit margins, noting “pricing has been steady, and we gained retail market share with incentives much lower than the industry average.”

The company now predicts full-year adjusted profit of $12.5 billion to $14.5 billion, or $9.00 to $10.00 per share, up from its earlier outlook of $12.0 billion to $14.0 billion, or $8.50 to $9.50 per share. It also lifted its anticipated adjusted automotive free cash flow to a range of $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion from $8.0 billion to $10.0 billion.

Shares of General Motors were up about 4% to $44.99 as of 11:48 a.m. ET Tuesday.

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