The automotive company raised its full-year predictions and reported a reduction in battery costs
Shares of General Motors $GM increased by nearly 5% Tuesday morning following the announcement of better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. The automotive company also raised its full-year predictions and reported a reduction in the cost of batteries for its electric vehicles.
The company announced that its earnings per share for the first quarter increased by 18.5% to $2.62, while its revenue grew nearly 8% to $43.01 billion. Analysts had predicted earnings of $2.13 per share with sales totaling $41.09 billion.
GM has increased its adjusted automotive free cash flow forecast to $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion, up from $8 billion to $10 billion. The company has raised its expected adjusted earnings to $12.5 billion to $14.5 billion, or $9 to $10 per share, up from $12 billion to $14 billion or $8.50 to $9.50 per share.
The Detroit-based automaker reported a 1.5% drop in first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales to 594,233 units. In the same period, GM delivered over 441,000 vehicles in China.
Talking about the future goals of the company, GM CEO Mary Barra said in a shareholder letter that it the firm’s self-driving car subsidiary, Cruise, is back on the road in Phoenix gathering more road and mapping data. The company had pulled its autonomous fleet in November following an accident in San Francisco in which a pedestrian was struck.
“This is a critical step for validating our improved self-driving system and building upon the more than 5 million driverless miles we logged before our pause,” she said.
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