Shares in General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) are set to rev up on Tuesday after the carmaker beat Wall Street estimates for revenue and earnings for the final quarter of last year.
In a pre-market release, the Detroit group provided guidance for 2024 that indicated confidence in the year ahead.
"Consensus is growing that the US economy, the job market and auto sales will continue to be resilient, and at GM, we expect healthy industry sales of about 16 million units with the mix of EVs continuing to grow," chief executive officer Mary Barra said in the statement.
Chief financial officer Paul Jacobson told reporters on a call: "I believe GM is well positioned for another year of strong financial performance."
For the fourth quarter of 2023, revenue of $42.98 billion for the quarter was flat year on year but well up on the $38.67 billion estimated by analysts, while adjusted earnings per share came were down 45% year-on-year at $1.24 but above the $1.16 consensus forecast compiled by LSEG.
For the whole of 2023, revenue of $10.1 billion was above final guidance, while adjusted EPS of $7.68 was at the top end.
For 2024, management today guided to $9.8-11.2 billion of revenue and adjusted EPS of $8.50-9.50.
Extra costs in the past year included $1.1 billion from North American strikes and a $792 million charge for new commercial agreements with LG.
Spending on Cruise, the autonomous vehicle subsidiary that remains under several state and federal investigations, was $2.7 billion, excluding special items such as severance packages for layoffs announced last month. There was $478 million spent on restructuring Cruise, where management recently admitted their errors after losing its licence to operate in California when a pedestrian was found to have been hit and dragged by one of its robotaxis.
In 2024, GM expects to cut investment in Cruise by around $1 billion.
Barra, who is chair of the subsidiary's board, said: “At Cruise, we are committed to earning back the trust of regulators and the public through our commitments and our actions.”