General Motors Q4 Earnings Preview: Analyst Estimates, UAW Strike Impact, Electric Vehicles In Focus

Automotive company General Motors Company GM will report fourth-quarter financial results before the market opens on Jan. 30.

Here's a look at the earnings estimates from analysts, what analysts are saying, and key items for investors to watch.

Earnings Estimates: GM’s fourth-quarter revenue should hover at around $38.97 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The company reported revenue of $43.11 billion in last year's fourth quarter. GM has beaten revenue estimates from analysts in six straight quarters.

Analysts expect GM to report fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.16, compared to $2.12 in the prior year period. The company has beaten earnings per share estimates from analysts in five straight quarters.

What Analysts Are Saying: Planned fixed cost reductions from General Motors could help offset increased wages as part of a new labor agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, Mizuho Securities analyst Vijay Rakesh said.

The analyst upgraded shares from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $38 to $42 in December.

Rakesh highlighted the company's decision to pause "money-losing Cruise investments" and take action on several other cost savings measures.

"A more balanced Ultium EV ‘smart ramp' aligned with profitability, we believe could imply a near-term modest mix shift back to ICE from EV versus prior expectations," Rakesh said.

The analyst said production for General Motors should "snap back" in 2024 after the disruption of the UAW strikes.

Here's a look at other analyst ratings on General Motors over the past month:

• Barclays: Overweight rating, raises price target from $37 to $44
• Redbush Atlantic: Initiates with Neutral rating, price target $40
• Wolfe Research: Upgrade from Peer Perform to Outperform, no price target

Related Link: Cruise’s Robotaxi Accident Report Released: What’s Going On With General Motors Stock?

Key Items to Watch: The UAW strike impact is expected to be one of the key topics for GM. Analysts and investors would like more clarity on the financial impact and what it means for guidance going forward.

Cost savings measures from GM could be well received if they can offset the impact of higher wages for workers after the new labor deal.

Another key topic will likely be electric vehicles. After years of investing heavily in aggressive EV expansion, the company could be taking a more cautious and slower approach as it looks to improve its financials and minimize the impact of the strikes.

GM had the third bestselling EV in the U.S. with its Bolt trailing only the Model Y and Model 3 from Tesla. Chevrolet sold 62,988 EV units in the US in 2023, which was up 65.2% year-over-year. Overall, the US electric vehicle market sold 1.2 million units and was up 46.3% year-over-year.

The automaker recently said it would not be featured in a Super Bowl commercial for the big game, which is happening in two weeks. The move is seen as a cost savings feature and also comes after GM heavily focused on its electric vehicles in the past several Super Bowl ads.

GM Price Action: Shares of General Motors trade at $35.35 versus a 52-week trading range of $26.30 to $43.63. Shares of General Motors

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