GM 3Q profit falls 40% to $2.4B as chip shortage dings sales

DETROIT (AP) — High prices for trucks and SUVs helped General Motors post a $2.4 billion third-quarter profit despite factory closures due to a shortage of computer chips and other parts.

But the profit was 40% lower than the $4 billion GM made during the same period last year as sales slumped and the company lost market share in the U.S., its most profitable country.

Excluding one-time items, the company made $1.52 per share, beating Wall Street estimates of 98 cents.

Revenue for the quarter fell 25% to $26.78 billion, far short of Wall Street estimates of $30.72 billion, according to FactSet.

The company increased its full-year net income guidance to a range of $8.1 billion to $9.6 billion. Previously it had been $7.7 billion to $9.2 billion.

GM was forced to temporarily close many of its factories from July through September due to the global chip and parts shortages that have plagued the auto industry all year.

The profit came even though GM's third quarter sales in the U.S., its most profitable market, were almost 33% lower than a year ago. The company lost 3.8 percentage points of U.S. market share, according to the Edmunds.com website.

But consumer willingness to pay high prices for scarce new vehicles kept the money flowing for GM. The average sale price paid for a GM vehicle topped $50,000 for the quarter, up more than 16% from a year ago, Edmunds said.

“The ongoing disruption to supply chains created by the chip shortage has been particularly harsh to GM, which appeared to struggle with the biggest declines in sales and market share compared to its Detroit Three counterparts in Q3,” said Ivan Drury, Edmunds' senior manager of insights.

Shares rose almost 2% before the opening bell Wednesday.