Strong revenues and results for the first quarter, full-year guidance lifted
General Motors (GM) reported strong first-quarter earnings Tuesday morning, continuing its strong streak of quarterly reports as the largest U.S. automaker gears up for a big year of electric vehicle launches.
For the quarter, GM reported top-line revenue of $40.0 billion, topping estimates of $39.23 billion. GM’s adjusted EPS came in at $2.21, above estimates of $1.72, on net income of $2.4 billion.
GM also raised its 2023 guidance for the full year, and the company saw EBIT-adjusted earnings of $11.0 billion-$13.0 billion, compared with a previous outlook of $10.5 billion-$12.5 billion. GM sees FY adjusted EPS in a range of $6.35-$7.35, up from previous estimates of $6.00-$7.00. GM also estimates adjusted auto free cash flow of $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion, compared with a previous outlook of $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion.
“First quarter [results] came in ahead of our projects,”[ads1]; GM CFO Paul Jacobson said in a roundtable interview with Reports when discussing why GM raised its full-year guidance.
Earlier this month, the company disclosed that first-quarter U.S. deliveries rose 18% to 603,208 vehicles, and the automaker increased its U.S. market share by an estimated 1.3%, the most of any company in the industry, GM said.
GM also reported record electric vehicle deliveries of 20,670, although most of those were for the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV — GM only delivered two Hummer EV pickups and 968 Cadillac LYRIQ EVs. GM updated its 2023 EV rollout plans, noting that Silverado EV deliveries were set to begin in late Q2 to approximately 340 fleet customers, with production ramping up in Q2. GM also said the Chevy Blazer EV was on track to launch this summer, and the Chevy Equinox EV was set to launch this fall. GM had previously said the Equinox EV would start around $30,000.
Also on the EV front, GM announced today that it and partner Samsung SDI planned to invest more than $3 billion in a battery plant, which would be GM’s fourth facility in the United States. “The cells we will build together will help us scale our EV capacity in North America well beyond 1 million units annually,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
In his shareholder letter, Barra also reiterated GM’s plan to plan to produce 400,000 electric cars during 2022, 2023 and the first half of 2024, including 50,000 electric cars in North America in the first half of this year, and 100,000 electric cars in the second. half.
On a smaller note, GM’s China operations saw net income and wholesale shipments drop significantly quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year. GM said the decline in China operations was “primarily due to challenging industry conditions resulting in lower volumes, mix deterioration and pricing pressures.”
On the operating front, GM started a voluntary buyout program for US salaried workers in the 1st quarter and is expected to charge $1.5 billion as a result. GM said it will extract $2 billion in savings from the program and other cost-cutting measures; so far, 5,000 employees had chosen to participate in the program, which was better than the company expected, GM CFO Paul Jacobson.
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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him further Twitter and on Instagram.
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