GM crushes earnings expectations

mary barra gm

(GM CEO Mary Barra, with VP Mark Reuss.General Motors)

General Motors reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday, and it was a beat.

The automaker earned $1.86 per share ($1.81 diluted), on net revenue of $42.4 billion, a record for the company.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.48 per share, an improvement over the same period in 2015, when GM earned $1.29 per share.

GM has been posting profitable quarter after profitable quarter for the past few years, on the strength of strong pickup truck and SUV sales in the US.

The booming domestic market has been offset by a downturn in Latin America, a flat market in Europe, and slowing growth in China, where GM has traditionally been a major player.

On a conference call with reporters after earnings were announced, CFO Chuck Stevens confirmed that the GM acquisition of Cruise Automation, now complete, was a $581-million deal, well below the $1 billion that had been widely reported in March.

GM stock was trading 6% higher before the markets opened on Thursday. It closed at $31.50 on Wednesday.

GM Chart 7/21/16

(Screenshot via Google Finance)

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