*

GM posts strong results, better outlook for 2025 than

expected

*

Automaker has brought inventory in early due to tariff

threats

*

GM sold 2.7 mln vehicles in 2024

(Recasts paragraphs 2-4, adds comments on tariffs in paragraphs

6-8, adds bullet points)

DETROIT, Jan 28 (Reuters) - General Motors ( GM ) on

Tuesday posted fourth-quarter 2024 results and a 2025 earnings

forecast ahead of Wall Street expectations as the U.S. automaker

continued to see strong consumer demand for its pricey

gasoline-powered trucks and SUVs.

However, the company's guidance does not account for the

possibility of wide-ranging tariffs that could hit the company's

operations hard due to its reliance on the extensive North

American auto manufacturing chain between Mexico, Canada and the

United States.

The automaker projected net income of $11.2 billion to

$12.5 billion this year, a more optimistic view than analyst

expectations of $10.8 billion, as calculated by LSEG.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday evening again

threatened tariffs on a broad array of goods, including steel,

aluminum and copper, all materials critical to building

automobiles.

GM is one of the automakers most exposed to Trump's plans on

two important fronts: EVs, where it has made aggressive

investments, and tariffs, because it has substantial

manufacturing in Mexico and Canada, countries that Trump is

targeting.

GM's CFO Paul Jacobson told reporters Monday prior to

Trump's statements that the company has an "extensive playbook"

pulled together in the event tariffs are imposed. The company

had already started to bring vehicles in its international

inventory in Mexico and Canada to the United States, Jacobson

said.

"Every delivery that we can make before a tariff is

instituted, it's that much better, rather than sitting on

inventory," he said.

He did say, however, that they would not be able to make

some decisions until they understand what the tariff environment

will look like. "There's things that we can do to balance

plants, etc, and then there are things that cost a lot more

money going forward," he said.

GM's adjusted earnings per share of $10.60 for the year

surpassed the market expectation of $10.39. GM's revenue of $187

billion beat estimates of $183 billion.

GM sold vehicles at an average price of $50,000 in 2024, and

executives see a 1% to 1.5% drop in North American pricing power

and a modest decline in gas-powered vehicle volume in 2025,

leaving it in a relatively strong position.

The company expects losses will narrow with its

battery-powered vehicles, a reorganization of the China business

will lead to improved results, and GM is ending robotaxi

development at Cruise, its autonomous vehicle unit, which will

lead to savings.

The Detroit carmaker does not break down its EV losses, but

said in 2024 that revenue was higher than fixed costs including

labor and material costs, a metric that it calls positive

variable profitability. The figure does not include costs such

as building assembly lines, but indicates financial progress in

the EV rollout.

GM did not meet its goal of producing and wholesaling

200,000 EVs in North America in the year, instead ending up at

189,000 units wholesale, Jacobson said. GM did reduce its EV

inventory from 100 days at the end of the third quarter to 70

days.

GM previously had forecast EV operating losses would narrow

by between $2 billion and $4 billion this year from undisclosed

levels, although Jacobson said the decline in losses was likely

to be closer to $2 billion end based on a wholesale goal of

300,000 for the year.

"We do think that we can grow our EV demand. We're going to

continue to see how EV adoption progresses in 2025," Jacobson

said.

GM's fourth-quarter revenue of $47.7 billion surpassed

analyst expectations of $43.9 billion. The automaker's adjusted

earnings per share of $1.92 in the quarter also exceeded analyst

forecasts of $1.89 per share.

It earlier had said it sold 2.7 million vehicles for the

year, up 4% from 2023.

Shares of the Detroit automaker fell about 0.6% in premarket

trading.

RESTRUCTURING CHARGES

GM reported pre-tax profit of $2.5 billion in the quarter

but reported a $3 billion net loss, mostly because of $4 billion

in restructuring charges in China where it lost $4.4 billion in

the year. The China business did return to profitability before

restructuring charges in the fourth quarter, Jacobson said.

GM partners with SAIC Motors in China to build Buick,

Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles.

GM took a charge of $500 million in the fourth quarter for

its Cruise autonomous business unit. The automaker announced in

December its plans to halt funding for Cruise's robotaxi program

after investing $10 billion in it since 2016.

GM sold 114,432 EVs in the year, a 50% increase from 2023.

The electrified versions of the mainstream Chevrolet Equinox and

Blazer boosted GM's EV sales, as did the Cadillac Lyriq with its

sales surpassing gas-powered luxury SUVs.