General Motors (NYSE: GM ) reported Q1 EPS of $2.25, $1.28 better than the analyst estimate of $0.97. Revenue for the quarter came in at $32.5 billion versus the consensus estimate of $33.15 billion.

GUIDANCE:

General Motors sees FY2021 EPS of $4.28-$5.03, versus the consensus of $5.24.

CEO LETTER:

Dear Shareholders,

Today, we announced that General Motors delivered strong first-quarter results, with EBIT-adjusted of $4.4 billion, and EPS-diluted-adjusted of $2.25. You’ll find additional details on investor.gm.com.

These strong results demonstrate once again the underlying strength of our business, especially in North America and China, and at GM Financial. We continue to execute our strategy and make significant progress on our transition to an all-electric future with the growth opportunities it creates.

The speed and agility of our team are front and center as we move from managing through a pandemic to managing the global semiconductor shortage. This remains a challenging period for the company as we emerge from 2020, but the team continues to demonstrate its ability to manage complex situations.

Our supply chain and manufacturing teams are maximizing production of high-demand and capacityconstrained vehicles. Our engineering teams are creating effective alternative solutions, and our sales teams, together with our dealers, are finding creative ways to satisfy customers despite lean inventories.

While we will have production downtime in the second quarter, we expect to have a strong first half, with EBIT-adjusted of around $5.5 billion. We are also reaffirming our guidance for the full year, and based on what we know today, we see results coming in at the higher end of the $10 billion to $11 billion EBITadjusted range we shared earlier this year.

Even as we manage these short-term challenges, we continue to accelerate our investment in electric vehicles, self-driving technology and other growth opportunities. We have made significant strides so far this year:

• We are preparing to launch the redesigned Chevrolet Bolt EV and new Bolt EUV this summer, and we confirmed a high-volume battery-electric Silverado for both fleet and retail customers, with a GM-estimated 400 miles of range on a full charge for certain configurations.
• We unveiled the stunning production version of the Cadillac LYRIQ nine months earlier than planned because of our virtual engineering and software expertise.
• We unveiled a second GMC HUMMER EV model – the GMC HUMMER EV SUV – which will feature in-house developed, software-driven technologies, including CrabWalk, Extract Mode and many more industry-leading features.
• We continue to expand the availability and capabilities of Super Cruise, the industry’s first true hands-free driver-assistance system.
• We introduced BrightDrop, a business created to help commercial delivery fleets maximize productivity, improve safety and reduce their carbon footprint. We are on track to begin delivering EV600 vans to our first customer, FedEx Express, later this year.
• We announced that Ultium Cells LLC, our joint venture with LG Energy Solution, will begin construction of a new battery cell plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. It will open in 2023, a year after our Lordstown, Ohio cell plant.
• We signed a joint development agreement and increased our investment in SolidEnergy Systems, one of several companies we are working with to help commercialize lithium-metal batteries, which have incredible potential to deliver even better EV performance, more range and lower costs for customers.
• We joined new investors Microsoft and Walmart in a $2.75-billion fundraising round for Cruise, which also announced an agreement with Dubai to deploy up to 4,000 self-driving Cruise Origin taxis by 2030.
• We will build two large EVs for Honda using our Ultium technology – one SUV for the Honda brand, and one for the Acura brand.
• We revealed Ultium Charge 360, an innovative and holistic approach that integrates charging networks with our mobile apps and other products and services to simplify the charging experience for our EV customers.

This is extraordinary progress, with much more to come. We will continue to convert assembly plants to build EVs and expand our battery cell capacity as we make progress on our goal of EV market share leadership in North America. We will lead the industry in safely commercializing self-driving technology. And we will work with our dealers to create surprise-and-delight experiences for our customers.

Throughout the year, we will continue sharing more good news about our growth. We also look forward to hosting you at an event this fall. We'll go deeper into our growth strategy and key drivers of that growth, including software, hardware and services. More details will be announced in the summer.

Beyond the financial results and outlook I've shared, I encourage you to learn more about the progress we've made in our environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments by reading the 2020 GM Sustainability Report. All that I’ve described in this letter has been shaped by our vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion that we first shared in 2017.

Our Sustainability Report is much more than a collection of ESG initiatives. It covers in a very clear and candid way our efforts to help solve complex societal issues like inclusion, diversity and equity. The report is all the more timely because of what’s happening in our society, and our ambition to become the world’s most inclusive company.

I believe you’ll conclude, as we have, that our business future is also our ESG future. On behalf of the entire GM team, thank you for your support and for joining us on this exciting journey.

mtb

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