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Will Rise in Retail Sales Aid General Motors' (GM) Q1 Earnings?

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General Motors (GM - Free Report) is slated to release first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 23, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $2.06 per share and $40.61 billion, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for General Motors’ first-quarter earnings per share has been revised upward by 4 cents in the past 30 days. The bottom-line projection indicates a year-over-year decline of 6.79%. The top-line estimate suggests a year-over-year increase of 1.56%.

In the last reported quarter, the company missed earnings estimates on lower-than-expected profits from the GM North America (“GMNA”), General Motors International and GM Financial segments. The company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average being 19.95%. This is depicted in the graph below:

General Motors Company Price and EPS Surprise

 

General Motors Company Price and EPS Surprise

General Motors Company price-eps-surprise | General Motors Company Quote

 

Factors at Play

General Motors’ first-quarter sales in the United States declined 1.5% year over year to 594,233 units, primarily due to lower fleet deliveries. The phase-out of Chevrolet Bolt EV is expected to have adversely impacted GM’s sales.

However, the automaker reported a 6% year-over-year rise in retail sales. The year-over-year retail sales of Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC rose 10%, 6%, 9% and 3%, respectively, while that of GM envolve declined 23%. In the first quarter, total sales of Silverado and Sierra increased 2.4% and 2.1% year over year, respectively.

For the first quarter, our projection for wholesale vehicle sales from the GMNA segment is pegged at 718,000 units, indicating a decline of 0.7% year over year. Our estimate for revenue per unit from the GMNA segment is pegged at $46,708, suggesting a year-over-year rise of 2.7%.

Our estimate for revenues from the GMNA segment is pegged at $33.55 billion, indicating a rise from $32.89 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Our projection for operating income from the GMNA segment is pegged at $2.75 billion, suggesting a year-over-year decline of 23%.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for General Motors this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is the case here.

Earnings ESP: It has an Earnings ESP of +7.77%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: General Motors currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Other Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are some other players from the auto space that, per our model, have the correct ingredients to post an earnings beat this time.

Oshkosh Corporation (OSK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.11% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The company is set to release first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 25. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OSK’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $2.26 per share and $2.51 billion, respectively. Oshkosh surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 46.78%.

Visteon Corporation (VC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.10% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The company is slated to release first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 25.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VC’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $1.76 per share and $990.08 million, respectively. Visteon surpassed earnings estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, the average surprise being 134.25%.

PACCAR Inc (PCAR - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.33% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 30.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PCAR’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $2.17 per share and $8.08 billion, respectively. PACCAR surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 17.07%.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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