Hobbled by chip shortages, GM net income slides 40% in Q2

A General Motors sign is seen at its facility in Langhorne, Pa., on Oct. 16, 2019. General Motors' second-quarter net income fell 40% from a year ago as computer chip and parts shortages hobbled factory output and drove the company's U.S. sales down more than 15%. The Detroit automaker said it made $1.67 billion from April, 2022, through June, 2022, in part because it couldn't deliver 95,000 vehicles during the quarter because they were built without one part or another. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' second-quarter net income fell 40% from a year ago as computer chip and parts shortages hobbled factory output and drove the company's U.S. sales down more than 15%.

The Detroit automaker earned $1.67 billion from April through June, in part because it couldn't deliver 95,000 vehicles during the quarter because they were built without one part or another. Last year it made $2.79 billion.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $1.14 per share, falling short of Wall Street expectations for $1.27. Revenue was $35.76 billion for the quarter, beating estimates of $33.9 billion, according to FactSet.

Like other automakers, GM has been forced to slow its factories since late in 2020 largely due to a global shortage of semiconductors.

Despite the profit drop, GM held its full-year net income guidance steady at between $9.6 billion and $11.2 billion. The company still expects pretax income of $13 billion to $15 billion.

“This confidence comes from our expectation that GM global production and wholesale deliveries will be up sharply in the second half,” CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders Tuesday.

Still, Barra said there are concerns about economic conditions, so GM is taking steps to manage costs, including reducing discretionary spending and limiting hiring to critical positions needed to support growth. “We also have modeled many downturn scenarios and we are prepared to take deliberate action when and if necessary,” Barra said.

Shares of GM fell slightly to $34.29 in trading before Tuesday’s opening bell. Other automakers outpaced broader declines across the market.

Most of GM's incomplete vehicles were built in June, the company said, and it expects them to be finished and sold to dealers before year's end.

GM made $2.3 billion before taxes in North America, its most profitable market, a 21% tumble from a year ago. The company said strong demand, coupled with production cuts, continues to limit dealer inventory. During the quarter, the company had only a 10- to 15-day supply of vehicles on dealer lots, it said.

The company reported a $100 million equity income loss during the quarter from its joint venture in China, largely driven by pandemic-related lockdowns. But GM said production began to recover in June.

The company’s liquidity, measured by cash and available credit lines, fell by more than 10% since the end of the year to $33 billion.

Also Tuesday, GM announced that is has commitments for all the raw materials needed to reach its goal of building 1 million electric vehicles per year by the end of 2025.

The company also said it has a deal with LG Chem to supply nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum to make electric vehicle battery cathodes. LG Chem will supply over 950,000 tons of material during the next eight years . The two companies will explore a cathode materials production facility in North America by the end of 2025, they said in a statement.

GM also announced a contract with Livent to supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide from a brine operation in South America over a six-year period starting in 2025. The Philadelphia company's lithium also will be used in cathodes.

Cathodes are the negative terminal of a battery.