General Motors Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

General Motors (NYS: GM) filed its 10-K on Feb. 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), General Motors met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.


Gross margins shrank, operating margins dropped, net margins expanded.

Revenue details
 General Motors booked revenue of $39.30 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $39.00 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.48. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.51 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.54 for Q4 were 93% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.28 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 3.3%, 1,010 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -5.7%, 1,080 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.0%, 110 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $37.24 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.58.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $159.33 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.31.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 828 members out of 1,046 rating the stock outperform, and 218 members rating it underperform. Among 217 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 168 give General Motors a green thumbs-up, and 49 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on General Motors is outperform, with an average price target of $34.05.

If you're looking for an edge in the transportation segment of the market, consider strong, smaller brands that sell their products to folks like you and me. We've got a couple to offer, plus a home-owner's trusted go-to company, in our new special report, "Middle-Class Millionaire-Makers: 3 Stocks Wall Street's Too Rich to Notice." Click here for instant access to this free report.

The article General Motors Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement