General Motors Vrooms Past Q4 Street Expectations, Sees US EV Business Take Off From Second Half 2024

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) reported a fourth-quarter FY23 sales decline of (0.3)% year-on-year to $42.98 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $38.97 billion.

Adjusted EPS of $1.24 beat the consensus estimate of $1.16.

GM’s market share reached 8.5% for the quarter versus 9.1% a year ago. In the U.S. the share changed to 15.7%, down from 16.7%. Its share in China reached 7.9%, down from 9.1% a year earlier.

The fourth quarter deliveries registered a 0.1 million increase Y/Y to 1.6 million units.

Operating income for the quarter fell to $0.9 billion versus $2.6 billion a year ago.

GM, in its letter to shareholders, said, “Consensus is growing that the U.S. economy, the job market and auto sales will continue to be resilient, and at GM, we expect healthy industry sales of about 16 million units with the mix of EVs continuing to grow.”

Adjusted EBIT for the quarter fell (53.4)% to $1.76 billion, with an adjusted EBIT margin of 4.1%, down by 470 bps. Net income margin was 4.9% versus 4.6% a year ago.

The company held $26.5 billion in cash and equivalents as of December 31, 2023. The adjusted automotive free cash flow was $1.34 billion.

The company acknowledged the slowdown in the EV business. However, it expects the U.S. portfolio to become variable profit positive in the second half of the year based on its current expectations for EV demand and production growth, strong interest in our vehicles, lower commodity prices and other factors.

Also Read: Dealers Urge General Motors To Embrace Hybrids Amid Electric Vehicle Hesitancy

FY24 Guidance: General Motors projects adjusted EPS of $8.50 – $9.50 versus consensus of $7.83. The company projects adjusted automotive free cash flow of $8.0 billion – $10.0 billion. It eyes capital spending of $10.5 billion – $11.5 billion.

Price Action: GM shares are trading higher by 7.94% at $38.20 in premarket on the last check Tuesday.

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