Investor Stock Updates: General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

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By David Scouts on July 24, 2014 Market

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) shares were down 2.7% at $36.40 in pre-market trade Thursday after the automaker reported Q2 earnings of $0.58 per share and revenue of $39.6 billion. The Street expected earnings of $0.57 per share on $39.4 billion in revenue, according to Capital IQ estimates.

“Our underlying business performance in the first half of the year was strong as we grew our revenue on improved pricing and solid new vehicle launches,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. GM trades in a 52-week range at $31.70 to $41.85.

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has reported Q2 results that missed analyst projections despite a growth in total revenue from the same period last year. The automotive retailer reported Q2 EPS of $1.47, down from $1.52 in Q2 2013 and missing analyst estimates of $1.63.Total revenues of $2.51 billion were up from $2.33 billion in Q2 2013 but missed analyst expectations of $2.61 billion.

“On the positive side, our U.K. operations continue to set new records with a revenue increase of 21.2% and a gross profit increase of 24.4%. Additionally, our U.S. business continues to grow nicely with revenue up 9.5% and increases across all of our major business segments,” said Earl J. Hesterberg, Group 1′s president and chief executive officer. “On the disappointing side, the Brazilian market deteriorated significantly during the quarter due to political and economic uncertainty, as well as major business disruption from the World Cup event. Our Brazilian revenue declined 18.8% on a new vehicle unit sales decrease of 22.3%. The deterioration in our Brazilian business represents a 15% reduction in our total adjusted EPS profit performance versus the comparable period last year.”

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shares slipped in Thursday’s pre-market session, despite higher-than-expected Q2 earnings from the maker of construction and mining equipment, as its revenue missed analysts’ expectations while its 2014 earnings outlook remained below the Street view despite being boosted.

CAT was down 1.3% at $107.03 in recent pre-market trading, in a 52-week range of $81.35 to $111.46. The stock had risen 4.8% over the past three months heading into the earnings report.

The industrial giant’s profit climbed to $999 million, or $1.57 per diluted share, from $960 million, or $1.45 per diluted share, a year earlier. The per-share comparison was skewed by a 3.7% reduction in the number of diluted shares outstanding. Excluding restructuring costs, its profit per share for the latest quarter was $1.69, above the $1.52 consensus estimate of analysts polled by Capital IQ. However, total sales and revenue slipped 3.2% to $14.15 billion, missing analysts’ mean estimate of $14.3 billion.

Still, Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman said: “We’re pleased with our second-quarter results, particularly the improvement in profit. We increased the bottom line despite a weak quarter for our Resource Industries segment, which is principally mining.”

The company narrowed its sales outlook range for the year, now seeing 2014 sales and revenue of $54 billion to $56 billion, versus its prior forecast of $53.2 billion to $58.8 billion. It noted while the range is tighter, the midpoint is slightly lower. Analysts recently were expecting $56 billion.

It raised its guidance for 2014 EPS to $6.20 excluding restructuring costs of about $400 million. Previously, it had forecast earnings of $6.10 per share excluding restructuring costs. Still, the raised target is below analysts’ latest forecast of $6.24. The company also said it plans to repurchase about $2.5 billion in common stock during Q3, part of the $10 billion stock-repurchase authorization its board approved in Q1.