More profitable – read higher cost – vehicle sales lead to positive earnings and a very healthy 10.1 percent margin in North America! Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – October 31, 2018 GM profited heavily in the Q3 of 2018 with net income of $2.5 billion, compared with a loss of $2.98 billion a year earlier due to the sale of PSA in Europe. Operating income rose $600 million to an eye opening $3.2 billion in the quarter. Despite an 11.4 percent reduction in U.S. retail sales volumes - 695,000 from 781,000 in the Q3 of 2017, the automaker reported net revenue of $35.79 billion, up 6 percent from $33.62 billion achieved during the Q3 of 2017. International sales fell 18% to $4.58 billion leading to a slim .1 billion USD profit. Globally, YTD sales of 6,141,000 are off 12.4 percent from the 7,007,000 sold through the same period of 2017. GM’s autonomous vehicle unit “Cruise” losses widened to $214 million from $165 million in the Q3 of 2017. Shortly after GM announced its Q3 2018 earnings, the company stated it will be offering voluntary buyouts to 18,000 of its 50,000 US salaried staff as part of a cost-cutting effort. That is the equivalent of a 36 percent reduction of salaried workforce if obtained. GM shares are currently up a strong 8.47 percent at 36.38 on today’s news. YTD GM shares are down 12.9 percent from its opening on January 2.
