The automotive giant is adjusting much more quickly than expected in the face of a series of headwinds in the sector.
O lucro da General Motors (GM) fell 33% by September, to 6,007 million dollars (5,176 million euros). The US car manufacturer was clearly penalized for drop of 57% in the third quarter.
Between July and September, net profit attributable to shareholders fell 57%, to 1.327 million dollars, says the business group that owns brands such as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac.
In the first nine months of the year, the group had revenues of 139.732 million dollars, a number practically unchanged compared to 139.740 million dollars in the same period last year.
Earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) until September it was 9.903 million dollars, against 12.424 million dollars in the first nine months of 2024.
Until September, the group sold 2.86 million of vehicles, against 2.97 million sales in the same period of the previous year.
With these results, GM revised down expectations for the end of the year. Previously, the group aimed for attributable profits between 7,700 million and 9,500 million dollars, a range that dropped to between 7,700 million and 8,300 million dollars.
But…
As actions da General Motors rose 15% on Tuesday on Wall Street, after the release of these results – which after all are “full of positive surprises”.
Explains it: the company is conform much faster than expected, given a series of headwinds in the automotive sector.
Positive numbers have three bases.
The first: the company is reduce – more quickly than expected – the customs tariff invoice, of several billion dollars. The impact should be 500 million dollars compared to the latest forecasts.
The second has to do with the electric vehicle market in visible deceleration. The company is shrink quickly this division and focus on the profitability of what remains.
Finally, and due to the relief of the limits on polluting emissions with Donald Trump’s presidency, General Motors is even having difficulties in keeping up with demand for its gasoline trucks and SUVs – which are the most profitable.
The company said that it plans to compensate around 35% of the tariffs, through reduction commercial costs and rationalization of its factory operations.
“By acting quickly and decisively to address the overcapacity issue, we expect to reduce losses in the electric vehicle segment in 2026 and beyond, which will leave us much better positioned as demand stabilizes,” said General Motors CEO Mary Barra when presenting third quarter results.
Now, the EBITDA forecasts in 2025 rose: between 12 billion and 13 billion dollars, when the previous range was between 10 billion and 12.5 billion.
Revenues fell in the third quarter, profits fell in the third quarter. But the company foresees profit growth also in 2026.
As actions of General Motors have already risen 25% throughout this year.
