GM's nears record profit despite last year’s worker strike

GM topped third quarter earnings estimates as demand continues to stay strong.

Transcript

00:00I'm Conway Gittins reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here's what we're watching on the street today.

00:04Investors have turned cautious as lending rates remain elevated and Wall Street moves into the thick of earnings season.

00:10Verizon slightly missed earnings forecasts. The company cited a 10 percent drop in upgrades during the third quarter.

00:17Higher interest rates may have scared consumers away from buying a new, more expensive phone.

00:24Turning now to other business developments, labor negotiations are under the microscope after several higher-profile strikes,

00:30including dock workers, Boeing machinists, Hollywood actors, and Detroit autoworkers.

00:35Pay is usually at the center of the dispute. Workers want more, the company wants less.

00:41Quarterly numbers out of General Motors are adding some color to the discussion.

00:45Just one year after a costly walkout, General Motors is on the road to posting record profits.

00:52The company's adjusted earnings for the third quarter jumped $3.4 billion from $3.2 billion.

00:57And for the first nine months of the year combined, GM pocketed just under $10 billion.

01:03Things are going so well, GM raised its profit outlook for the year for the third time.

01:09It now expects a measure of profitability to come in between $14 billion to $15 billion for 2024,

01:16putting it on track to eclipse the record profit it saw in 2022.

01:21And these higher profits are thanks to higher sales. Revenues rose in the third quarter, hitting $48.8 billion.

01:29The average North American selling price per vehicle is running ahead of last year.

01:34That sales rate is enabling GM to cover the additional labor costs it agreed to after workers went on strike in 2023.

01:42It agreed to pay an 11 percent raise and boost pay by another 14 percent spread over four years.

01:49A year after the strike and with sales in the tens of billions of dollars,

01:54GM's CFO said there's, quote, no regrets over the UAW contract.

02:00That'll do it for your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange. I'm Conway Gittins with The Street.