A month has gone by since the last earnings report for General Motors Company (GM Quick QuoteGM - Free Report) . Shares have added about 5.3% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is General Motors Company due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

General Motors Posts Robust Q4 Results 

General Motors reported adjusted earnings of $1.93 per share for fourth-quarter 2020, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.62. The bottom line was significantly higher than the year-ago earnings of 5 cents per share amid cost-containment efforts, and robust demand for SUVs as well as pickups. Revenues of $37,518 million topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $36,899 million. Revenues also surged from the year-ago figure of $30,826 million. The company recorded adjusted EBIT of $3,712 million, significantly up from $105 million witnessed in the prior-year quarter.

Segmental Performance

GM North America (GMNA) generated fourth-quarter net revenues of $30,170 million, up from $22,706 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. Also, revenues from the unit outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $28,547 million. Wholesale vehicle sales in the region totaled 802,000 units, up from 684,000 units in the comparable year-ago quarter. The segment reported an operating profit of $2,612 million, jumping from the year-ago level of $263 million. The results improved primarily owing to continued cost-cut actions, newly launched full-size SUVs and high demand for pickup trucks.

GM International’s (GMI) net revenues for the reported quarter were $3,894 million, down from the year-ago quarter’s $4,420 million on lower year-over-year vehicle sales. However, revenues from the segment topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,555 million. The unit turned an operating profit of $283 million compared with the year-ago loss of $120 million and the consensus estimate of a loss of $54 million, owing to strong pricing, vehicle launches and benefits from cost-containment actions.

GM Financial generated net revenues of $3,426 million for the December-end quarter, down from $3,636 million recorded in the year-ago period. The segment recorded an operating profit of $1,039 million, increasing from $498 million witnessed in the prior-year quarter and beating the consensus mark of $608 million. This upswing resulted from the positive impact of high used-vehicle prices, which in turn contributed to gains in the sale of off-lease vehicles, stable credit performance and reduced interest expense.

GM Cruise witnessed net revenues of $24 million for the fourth quarter, down from $25 million reported in the year-earlier period. The segment posted an operating loss of $260 million, narrower than $305 million loss reported in the prior-year quarter.

GM Corporate delivered net revenues of $29 million for the reported quarter, down from the year-ago period’s $68 million. However, the segment reported an operating income of $38 million against a loss of $231 million incurred in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

General Motors had cash and cash equivalents of $19.2 billion as of Dec 31, 2020 compared with $19.1 billion in the corresponding period of 2019. Long-term automotive debt stands at $16.2 billion compared with $12.5 billion as of Dec 31, 2019.

General Motors’ automotive liquidity amounted to $40.5 billion at the end of the October-December quarter. The company recorded adjusted automotive free cash flow (FCF) of $3.4 billion for fourth-quarter 2020 against negative FCF of $1.3 billion witnessed in the prior-year period.

2021 View

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Analysts were quiet during the last two month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions.