GM posts strong results, raises full-year guidance for 2nd straight quarter

GM once again posted strong second quarter results, and boosted its guidance for a second time this year as customers continue buying the Detroit-based automaker’s gas-powered vehicles, trucks — and even EVs. 

For the quarter, GM reported record revenue of $47.97 billion versus $45.51 billion estimated (Bloomberg consensus), which represents a 7.2% jump compared to a year ago ($44.75 billion). GM reported adjusted EPS of $3.06, compared to estimates of $2.70, with GM also reporting adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of $4.438 billion, easily topping estimates of $3.88 billion. 

In terms of guidance, GM reported the following updates to its full-year 2024 forecast:

EBIT adjusted: $13.0 billion to $15.0 billion ($12.5 billion – $14.5 billion previous)

Automotive operating cash flow: $19.2 billion – $22.2 billion ($18.3 billion – $21.3 billion previous)

Adjusted automotive free cash flow: $9.5 billion – $11.5 billion ($8.5 billion $10.5 billion previous)

EPS diluted-adjusted: $9.50 $10.50 ($9.00 $10.00 previous)

GM shares are up 3.5% in pre-market trading following release of the results.

It was the second time this year GM boosted its full-year profit outlook. GM attributes much of this success to the popularity of its vehicles. 

“I want to begin by thanking the GM team, as well as our dealers, suppliers and other business partners, for helping us deliver strong second quarter and first half results, including record revenue in both periods. This has paved the way for us to increase our guidance for full-year earnings, free cash flow and earnings per share,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in her shareholder letter.

Boosting guidance and returning cash in the form of buybacks to shareholderse is “coming from ICE [internal combustion engine] portfolio and underlying performance of the business… generating significant free cash flow,” GM CFO Paul Jacobson said in a call with reporters. GM authorized a $6 billion share buyback plan in June. 

In terms of its EV gameplan, GM reiterated it still expects to produce 200,000 to 250,000 EVs this year, slightly lower than the 200,000 to 300,000 unit plan, and a far cry from initial EV plans of 400,000 EVs produced by 2024.

GM also committed to reaching certain profitability metrics by the end of the year.

“As excited as we are about our EVs and our early success, we are committed to disciplined volume growth, which is the key to earning positive variable profits from our portfolio in the fourth quarter, which remains our goal,” Barra said in her letter. 

“Positive variable profit” refers to profit from sales of a certain product where only variable costs like materials are deducted from revenue. Without including “fixed costs,” variable profit gives a better view how profitable a product is, and how much sales are needed to break even.

Overall, GM sales in the second quarter are boosting the company’s bottom line at the right time, and EV sales are strong as well.

In the quarter, GM delivered 696,086 vehicles in the US, up 0.6% year over year, its best since the fourth quarter of 2020. GM also said it was the sales leader in full-size pickups, and EV sales hit a record as well. GM said full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra were up approximately 5% year over year in the first half of 2024, with mid-sized Colorado and Canyon pickups have their best first-half since 2019.

GM said it delivered 21,930 EVs in Q1, up 34% over the previous quarter—and a 40% jump from a year ago. Despite pushing back on its original EV plans, GM still said it will have 10 EV models in the market by the end of the year.

GM said its Cruise autonomous driving unit was also ramping up testing following a pause last year due to accidents. Cruise will be expanding to new cities, with supervised testing currently occurring in Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston. Cruise will also shift all of its vehicles to GM’s Chevrolet Bolt EV platform from the Origin autonomous vehicle, which will address regulatory uncertainty GM faced with the Origin, and per-unit costs will be much lower going forward.

GM will take a $600 million one-time charge for “indefinitely suspending” the Origin vehicle development, CFO Paul Jacobson said to reporters.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering the auto industry. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.

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