GM beats on Q3 earnings, raises profit forecast for 3rd time this year

General Motors (GM) gave investors something to cheer early Tuesday morning after the automaker raised its guidance for a third time this year, in addition to easily beating third quarter revenue and profit expectations.

For the quarter, GM reported revenue of $48.78 billion, easily topping estimates of $44.69 billion per Bloomberg consensus, and higher than the prior quarter's nearly $48 billion. GM's Q3 revenue was also 10.5% higher than a year ago.

The company booked adjusted EPS (earnings per share) of $2.96, far outstripping expectations of $2.44. It reported EBIT-adjusted profit of $4.115 billion, up 15.5% from a year ago, with EBIT-adjusted margin climbing to 8.4% from 8.1% year over year.

GM shares jumped nearly 8% in early trade.

In terms of guidance, GM made the following upward revisions to its full-year 2024 forecast:

• EBIT adjusted: $14.0 billion to $15.0 billion ($13.0 billion - $15.0 billion previous)

• Automotive operating cash flow: $22.0 billion - $24.0 billion ($19.2 billion - $22.2 billion previous)

• Adjusted automotive free cash flow: $12.5 billion - $13.5 billion ($9.5 billion - $11.5 billion previous)

• EPS diluted-adjusted: $10.00 - $10.50 ($9.50 - $10.50 previous)

"I’m proud that GM is delivering our best vehicles ever with strong financial results. But I want to be clear that we are not mistaking progress for winning," GM CEO Mary Barra wrote in her letter to shareholders. "Competition is fierce, and the regulatory environment will keep getting tougher. That’s why we are focused on optimizing our ICE margins and working to make our EVs profitable on an EBIT basis as quickly as possible."

GM CFO Paul Jacobson added in a media call with reporters that while the reduction of GM's share count by 19% via buybacks provided a "tailwind" to the EPS beat, the profit beat was due more to the earnings power of the company's fundamental business.

IN Q3, GM delivered 659,601 vehicles, down 2% compared with a year ago; however, retail sales were up 3%. GM said it delivered more vehicles than any other automaker in the US in the quarter.

Not surprisingly, GM’s sales of pickups and full-size SUVs led the way, but EV sales were also a highlight. Amid a drop in sales for the Bolt EV, GM’s other EV models picked up the slack with sales of 32,195 EVs in total, up 60% compared to a year ago.

Jacobson said at GM's investor day earlier in October that the company is still targeting EV profitability on a positive variable profit margin basis, despite the fact that it lowered its EV production volume to 200,000 units for the year from 200,000 to 250,000. The company is expecting to trim EV costs by $2 billion to $4 billion in 2025.