Cars and Drivers

What to Expect When GM Reports Wednesday

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General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets open on Wednesday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are calling for $1.22 in earnings per share (EPS) and $36.48 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, GM said it had $1.65 in EPS and $37.72 billion in revenue.

Despite a declining car market in 2019, GM expects the overall U.S. market to remain strong, projecting total industry sales above 17 million. The company expects to benefit from a full year of volume from GM’s all-new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty, full-size pickups. The trucks have contributed to retail market share growth in the light-duty pickup segment every month since August, with average transaction prices that have surpassed those of key competitors.

As for electric vehicles (EVs), Cadillac will be GM’s lead EV brand and will introduce the first model from the company’s all-new battery EV architecture, GM’s foundation for an advanced family of profitable EVs.

GM also expects to start launching its all-new global family of vehicles in 2019 in China, followed by South America and Mexico. The first crossover model will be the Chevrolet Tracker. These vehicles are expected to capture growth in key global markets and represent one-in-10 GM vehicles sold globally by 2020.

Overall, General Motors has outperformed the broad markets, with its stock up about 16% year to date. However, in the past 52 weeks the stock is down 8%.

Ahead of the earnings report, a few analysts weighed in on GM:

  • Goldman Sachs has a Hold rating and a $38 price target.
  • RBC has an Outperform rating with a $50 price target.
  • Barclays has a Buy rating with a $49 price target.
  • BMO Capital Markets has a Buy rating with a $49 price target.
  • Buckingham Research has a Hold rating with a $34 target.
  • Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating.

Shares of GM were last seen at $38.92, in a 52-week range of $30.56 to $45.00. The consensus analyst price target is $45.45.

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