The earnings news isn't great for General Motors (NYSE: GM) this morning, but the company did manage to lose less money than expected. The struggling American automaker announced that it lost $6 billion during the quarter and spent $10.2 billion more cash than it received. Excluding items, GM lost $9.78 per share -- far greater than a year ago when the firm lost 67 cents per share. Despite results being far worse than a year ago, GM managed to top expectations of a loss of $11.39 per share. GM's quarterly revenue dropped 47% to $22.4 billion from $42.4 billion a year ago.
[Update: GM will need another $2.6 billion in U.S. aid in May, CFO Ray Young said on a conference call.]
While a smaller-than-expected loss is nice, a loss is a loss, and a nearly $10-per-share loss is huge. Furthermore, GM continues to stare down the barrel of a June 1 government deadline to either complete restructuring or go into bankruptcy protection.
The picture definitely isn't pretty for GM, but it is possible that the company can come up with an acceptable plan. Although, it seems that the government may have already made up its mind about GM's fate. Nevertheless, the company must shift gears and begin to offer consumers what they want, not what the company wants to make. Unfortunately, this isn't the business model GM has followed in the past, and it sure is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
5-07-2009 @ 9:46AM
Larry Klamerus said...
We lost BILLIONS in the first quater, but we lost less then expected to loose, what the HELL kind of logic ts that ??????
5-07-2009 @ 11:16AM
David Porter said...
WOULD YOU PLEASE GO UNDER - PLEASE
YOU MUST BE HELL IN RELATIONSHIPS
5-07-2009 @ 1:56PM
sgentilejr said...
What this proves is that the more they talk about the possibility of Going Bankrupt the lower their sales will go. NO ONE with any brains wants to buy a vehicle from a company that "might" go bankrupt and leave the buyer hanging. If Citi said they "might" go bankrupt, or they "might" file for bankruptcy protection everyone would be down to their Citi branch and pulling their money out fast.
5-07-2009 @ 2:28PM
p said...
At what point does it stop? There must now be more taxpayer money "invested" than the company is worth.
5-07-2009 @ 2:59PM
Dave said...
Give me a billion dollars ... and I will boost the economy all by myself :)
Like I have posted in the past, trying to bailout Corporations is throwing money away.
How many billions have the Govt given them already? Only to postpone the inevitable.
Companies go under, and new ones rise up in their place.
They need to trim the fat ... pork.
Maybe putting a half dozen bolts in a car does not warrant $25 an hour.
Just a thought.
5-07-2009 @ 3:04PM
Chuck said...
Time to cut them loose. A sorry day is here.
5-08-2009 @ 3:41PM
just1whitey said...
i don't think you understand zero's thinking..lets give them another 6 billion and then let them go under...then our g-kids will pay until death..
5-07-2009 @ 3:16PM
vince demarco said...
What will the final payback to the UAW cost us taxpayers? GM is dead,bury it. The UAW is dead please bury it before it bankrupts the United States. This is the most stupid investment that only the Obama gang will put up with to buy union votes.A new profitable firm will arise from the GM ashes with affordable labor rates.Both the management and union created this situation,get rid of all of them.
5-07-2009 @ 3:22PM
mickey said...
I told you a million times, DON'T GIVE THEM ANY MONEY, THEY WILL COME BACK FOR MORE. They they are a money pit FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Quit throwing taxpayer money away. This is a game with them. Its an auto salesman con job. THEY DON'T EVEN MAKE A GOOD PRODUCT.
5-07-2009 @ 3:48PM
Len said...
The problem with "fixing the ecomomy" is all wrong from the start. They are trying to fix it from the top down and it can never and will never work that way. It must be fixed from the bottom up. My plan would cost less then 150 million, and would fix the ecomomy within 48 hrs. Here is how it would work. Pay every man, woman, and child in the US 500 thousand, and they in turn would then spend us back to prosperity. If the 500 thousand is just paid to wage earners, and those that earn less than 2 million a year, it will cost even less and have the same effect. Home forclosers, unemployment, and credit card debt would all be a thing of the past. ALSO, if wanted, charge income tax on the amount right away and withhold it from the payout right at the beginning. Come on people. Think, those Fat Cats it Washington are NOT working for you, they are working for themselves and againt you.
5-07-2009 @ 3:42PM
pgitcb said...
WAIT WAIT ---- $6 billion dollars ??? ---- WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT THINKING ?? Giving money to GM is not going to make us buy cars/trucks! What we need are jobs - again use this money, this money and the other trillion dollars, to companies to keep the workers they have now - and have all those laid off to be rehired back to the jobs they had and force all off shore jobs back - those are the high tech jobs that we need (and not the $10-15 an hour jobs installing solor panals) and the manufacturing jobs, this is what is needed now. And not this bail outs which will not improve GM or any other company to sell products.
5-07-2009 @ 4:40PM
brookfield1972 said...
Government backed the current debt and say's it will fix your car's if this company goes bankrupt? Sure. Just like the lock box for social security; bankrupt medicare, medicade and other unfunded liabilities. Barney Franlk said Fannie and Freedie were in great shape before they disclosed they were bankrupt! Chris Dodd said he did not take out the para which would have precluded AIG bonus's. Two days later he disclosed he lied to the American public. People. Your Congress screwed you years ago and this is just more of the same. Unless your AIG, GM, CITI, B of A etc. You own them all now. Congrats. Change we can trust??????????????
5-07-2009 @ 5:18PM
iphonerulez said...
These white Maryland Farmers ought to be shot. They've got the goverment as a piggy bank for their own personal use. It's so difficult to get even low-paying jobs and those damn executives are walking around on a cloud of cash. Those suckers putting the cars together can't be blamed, but nobody wants those crappy GM cars anyway. What we need is more people to repair roads and build more internet infrastructure. Let's get those broadband cables laid down all over the US. How about assembling computers in the U.S. instead of China.
I just say screw GM and let them go bankrupt. Unfortunately the execs will get new high-paying jobs in some other industry and the assembly slobs will get zilch.
5-07-2009 @ 8:13PM
larry said...
LET THE UAW GIVE GM MORE MONEY AFTERALL THEY ARE THE UNION THAT BANKRUPTED GM---OBAMA'S BOSSES AT THE UAW WILL TELL OBAMA WHAT HE SHOULD DO SO THERE GOES MORE TAXPAYER MONEY--------------------------------
5-07-2009 @ 5:37PM
Tony said...
Hey I got an idea. Let's give everyone at GM the summer off with pay like Chrysler, that should help something.
5-07-2009 @ 5:38PM
Duke said...
Why does the government have to pay those union wages? Why does the governement have to pay to keep GM going? It will cost the taxpayer billions either way. Pay them to keep going, or pay the factory workers unemployment. Let GM go under. Let them file chapter 7 and liquidate. No more bailout money and let the factory workers get jobs like the rest of us that pay $8.00 to $13.00 an hr. The rest of us get by on that.
5-07-2009 @ 5:57PM
John said...
Omama will not allow a real bankruptcy. He may arrange for the investors to not be wiped out but he will not allow the UAW to be forced to give up anything.
The president of the UAW is a PIMP and his 2 star ho's are nancy pelosi and her boy obama. He told them to bend over and pay back the union for getting them elected and they both said how far.
5-07-2009 @ 6:25PM
Mike said...
Just give everyone a million dollar one time payment, that will fix the economy. Giving it to GM and any other Big business is just like flushing the money down a toilet. Who is running our Government and why the hell are we giving bailout money.
5-07-2009 @ 6:28PM
Save America said...
GM file Chapter 7. Enough is enough. We taxpayers thanks to Obama have lost money again. Bury the UAW!!! Ford will buy your assets and continue to progress. Infact your demise leads to new a new automobile industry. Another company will emerge and to bad for the UAW, I think the new companies have witnessed what this union can do and will stay away. Death to the UAW!!!! Failure on Obama's watch!!! What upsets me about Obama is he is spending our money, not his and he can care less. He has plently of money and his children will not be affected by the deficiet like the rest of us, our children and our future generations to come if this country still exists.
5-07-2009 @ 6:37PM
phil schellenger said...
look at the money pi--ed away on this crap gm.