General Motors (GM) on Tuesday raised its guidance for the full year after its third-quarter results dramatically outperformed Wall Street’s expectations.
The Detroit automaker reported revenue of $48.7 billion, more than $4 billion above Wall Street’s expectations, and earnings per share of $2.96, compared to the expected $2.38 per share, according to estimates compiled by FactSet (FDS). Net income came in at $3.3 billion, 28% greater than analysts had expected and a slight gain compared to the same period in 2023.
The company on Tuesday also updated its full-year guidance for the time this year after beating the Street.
The automaker now expects adjusted earnings of between $14 billion and $15 billion, up from between $13 billion and $15 billion. Its initial guidance for 2024 called for adjusted earnings of between $12 billion and $14 billion.
GM also tightened its full-year guidance for net income to between $10.4 billion and $11.1 billion. It had previously expected between $10 billion and $11.4 billion.
Earlier this month, GM said deliveries were slightly down compared to a year prior, but electric vehicle sales had grown by 60% year-over-year.
“I’m proud that GM is delivering our best vehicles ever with strong financial results,” CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “But I want to be clear that we are not mistaking progress for winning.”
Barra added that the regulatory environment “will keep getting tougher” and noted that the automotive industry remains highly competitive, which is why GM is focused on optimizing its internal combustion engine business while working to make EVs profitable.
During an investor event earlier this month, executives said they believe EV losses peaked this year, with expected losses of between $2 billion and $4 billion in 2025. Barra has said the company is on pace to produce about 200,000 EVs in North America this year, with profitability on a production basis in the fourth quarter.
GM took a $137 million hit in China, where the automaker is attempting to restructure its joint venture with SAIC Motor amid a series of losses. In June, SAIC-GM cut production by 70% and delivered 26,000 vehicles, or 50% fewer than a year prior, according to Automotive News.
The company also reported an 88.2% drop in adjusted earnings in other international markets. It’s adjusted earnings for those markets came in at $42 million, compared to $357 million in 2023.
GM lost $383 million on its Cruise autonomous vehicle unit during the third quarter.Over the last nine months, Cruise has cost the automaker more than $1.3 billion. After an incident last October, Cruise has focused on repairing its public image and recently began putting its cars back on the road in several cities with a driver behind the wheel.