General Motors (GM) reported strong first-quarter results on Tuesday morning, continuing its strong streak of quarterly reports as the largest automaker in the United States prepares for a big year of electric vehicle launches.
For the quarter, GM reported revenue of $40.0 billion, beating estimates of $39.23 billion. GM’s adjusted EPS came in at $2.21, beating estimates of $1.72, with net income of $2.4 billion.
GM also raised its full-year 2023 guidance, with the company posting EBIT-adjusted profit of $11.0 billion to $13.0 billion, up from an earlier forecast of $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion. GM sees adjusted EPS for the year in a range of $6.35 to $7.35, up from previous projections for $6.00-$7.00. GM also forecast adjusted auto free cash flow of $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion, down from its previous guidance of $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion.
“The first quarter (results) beat our plans,” GM chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said in a roundtable interview with Reports when he explained why GM raised its guidance for the full year.
Earlier this month, the company announced that first-quarter US deliveries rose 18% to 603,208 vehicles, with the automaker increasing its US market share by around 1.3 %, the largest of any company in the industry, GM said.
GM also reported record electric vehicle deliveries of 20,670, although most of these were Chevrolet Bolt EVs and EUVs – GM only delivered two Hummer EV pickups and 968 Cadillac LYRIQ EVs. GM updated its electric vehicle rollout plans for 2023, noting that Silverado EV deliveries were expected to begin late in the second quarter to about 340 fleet customers, with production ramping up in the second quarter. GM also said the Chevy Blazer EV is on track to launch this summer and the Chevy Equinox EV is slated for launch this fall. GM previously said the Equinox EV would start around $30,000.
Also on the electric vehicle front, GM today announced that it and partner Samsung SDI plan to invest more than $3 billion in a battery plant, which would be GM’s fourth plant in the United States. in North America well over one million units per year,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
In his letter to shareholders, Barra also reiterated GM’s plan to produce 400,000 electric vehicles during 2022, 2023 and the first half of 2024, including 50,000 electric vehicles in North America in the first half of this year and 100,000 electric vehicles per second. half.
On a slightly negative note, GM’s China business saw net revenues and wholesale shipments drop significantly quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. GM said the decline in activity in China was “primarily due to challenging industry conditions resulting in lower volumes, deteriorating mix and pricing pressure.”
On the operations front, GM launched a voluntary buyout program for US employees in the first quarter and is expected to take a charge of $1.5 billion as a result. GM said it would reap $2 billion in program savings and other cost-cutting measures; so far, 5,000 employees had signed up for the program, which was better than the company expected, GM CFO Paul Jacobson said.
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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on instagram.
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