General Motors employees work on the assembly line at the Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant in Kansas City, Kansas.
Jim Barcus for General Motors
DETROIT – General Motors reported first quarter results on Wednesday that slightly exceeded Wall Street earnings expectations. A strong first half was expected despite an ongoing global semiconductor die shortage that has resulted in factory closures.
Here’s how GM fared compared to Wall Street’s expectations based on Refinitiv’s average estimates.
Adapted EPS: $ 2.25 versus $ 1.04 expected based on average analyst estimates made by Refinitiv.
Revenue: Expected $ 32.47 billion versus $ 32.67 billion.
GM confirmed its profit guidance for the year. The company projected adjusted pre-tax profit and adjusted free cash flow for the automotive industry of $ 10-11 billion, or $ 4.50-5.25 per share, of $ 1-2 billion for 2021. The projections took into account the potential impact of an ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips, including a profit of $ 1.5 billion to $ 2 billion and a drop in free cash flow of $ 1.5 billion to $ 2.5 billion.
At the end of the first quarter, GM CFO Paul Jacobson told investors that he was “increasingly confident” that the automaker would meet its profit targets for the year despite the chip shortage.
Income aside, Wall Street expects CEO Mary Barra and other senior executives to get insights on a range of other topics – from guidance updates for 2021 and an ongoing global semiconductor die shortage to electric and autonomous vehicles.
GM reported adjusted pre-tax profit of $ 1.3 billion, or 62 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2020 when the coronavirus began factory closings. Revenue for the quarter was $ 32.7 billion. On an unadjusted basis, net income was $ 2.2 billion.
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