GM reports record 3Q earnings despite slowing US sales
DETROIT — General Motors doesn’t seem too worried about slowing U.S. auto sales or economic troubles in Europe. If third-quarter numbers are any indication, the company has numbers to back that up.
The Detroit automaker reported a record profit on Tuesday that doubled results in the third quarter a year ago. And the automaker put a little more swagger behind its full-year guidance, predicting pretax earnings at the high end of previous forecasts of $5.50 to $6 per share.
GM earned $2.77 billion, or $1.76 per share, compared with $1.36 billion, or 84 cents per share a year ago. Revenue hit a record $42.8 billion.
The performance is largely because the company shunned low-profit sales to rental car companies in the U.S., keeping prices and profits high. GM also made $500 million off its Chinese joint venture and reduced losses by about $100 million each in Europe and South America.