General Motors Corporation posted weak Q2 operating results as trade wars, increased taxes on consumers called tariffs, and the ongoing Brexit crisis hurt sales and earnings. In brief, year- over-year comparisons: During Q2 2019 GM earnings per share dropped to 2,353 or $1.64 a share (2018 $2,591 $1.81); sales dropped globally; US sales dropped; China sales dropped. Total sales were down in every region except for a modest rise in GM International to 146,569, up 15,073 or 11.5%.The six-month results are worse: 4,373 million or $3.04 a share compared to $4,635 million or $3.24 per share.
Another job-destroying economic correction on way?
The best Q2 performance came in North America as GM’s all-new light-duty, crossovers and cost savings via job eliminations. This resulted in a 10.7% EBIT-adj. margin. Elsewhere, things were tougher. GM China sold 754,000 vehicles in the second quarter, about 100,000 fewer than the previous year’s quarter, due to an overall market decline, segment shifts and lower demand. Continue reading →
30 Senators Asking Automakers to Join California Fuel-Economy Agreement in Defiance of Trump’s EPA
It will interesting to see if Republicans abandon their “States Rights” posture now that it is inconvenient.
Thirty senators yesterday called on 14 automakers to join the agreement reached last month between California and Ford, BMW, Volkswagen and Honda to maintain strict fuel-efficiency rules. The letters were sent to Aston Martin, Fiat Chrysler, GM, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota and Volvo.
“In the absence of an agreement between the Federal government and states, the California agreement is a commonsense framework that provides flexibility to the industry to meet tailpipe standards while also taking important steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money on fuel for consumers,” the senators wrote. Continue reading →