General Motors (GM) delivered a first-quarter earnings and sales beat.
The automaker’s adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.21, 49 cents higher than analyst estimates. Sales came in at $39.99 billion, beating estimates by $605.73 million, according to CNBC.
GM also raised its full-year EBIT-adjusted earnings guidance from $10.5 billion-$12.5 billion to $11 billion-$13 billion.
“The first quarter came in ahead of our own expectations, primarily as a function of pricing and a consistent incentive plan, as well as demand remains strong for our vehicles,” GM CFO, Paul Jacobson, said on the earnings call.
Still, its share price fell over 4% on Tuesday. Investors are likely perturbed by GM’s shrinking margins, which fell 18.5% year-over-year, according to The New York Times.
Yet GM was able to capture the greatest U.S. market share gain of any automaker, growing 1.3% as deliveries increased by 18%, according to Yahoo Finance.
The Detroit-based automaker delivered over 20,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in the first quarter, leading to an 8% gain in EV market share to firmly hold the number two spot behind Tesla.
Despite the EV gains, GM CEO Mary Barra said the company would cease production of its top-selling EV model, the Chevy Bolt, by the end of 2023.
“We have progressed so far that it’s now time to plan to end the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV production,” Barra said.
The company will instead shift its focus to building EV trucks with its GMC Sierra EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV, Barra said on the earnings call.
The end of the Chevy Bolt was likely due to the model not being built on the company’s new Ultium EV platform, which will be present in all GM EVs moving forward, per Yahoo Finance.
“GM is able to offer affordable, and most importantly, profitable models positioned just above Bolt,” Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, said, per Yahoo Finance.
“Equinox EV starts around $30,000 and Blazer EV around $40,000. Both of these models are SUVs, the body style US consumers demand with a 60% retail share when considering all fuel types, such as internal combustion. Bolt couldn’t get cheaper and remain profitable, and it couldn’t move upmarket since Equinox slots directly above it,” he continued.
Karl Brauer of iSeeCars.com told Yahoo Finance that the Bolt does not represent the future of GM’s EVs.
“The Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and Silverado EV are all based on the company’s new Ultium platform, and all will be arriving this year.”
