General Motors Rises 8% Percent After Earnings

Shares of General Motors

have risen sharply on Wednesday after the Detroit automaker released its fiscal third-quarter earnings results prior to the opening bell. The company's earnings and sales topped Wall Street estimates and GM provided upbeat forward-looking guidance. The automaker said that it sees results for the current quarter being similar to or slightly better than last year's fourth-quarter. It also said that it expects its full-year adjusted earnings for its European division to be slightly better than the previous year. The company is targeting break-even earnings from its European operations by the middle of the decade. In the third-quarter, GM sold 2.28 million vehicles, which was an increase over the 2.25 million vehicles sold in last year's third-quarter. All regions showed growth in the period except for Europe, where the continent's sovereign debt crisis is plaguing the economy. Overall, GM reported third-quarter net income of $1.48 billion or $0.89 per share, compared to a profit of $1.73 billion or $1.03 per share last year. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were $0.93. This easily exceeded Wall Street analysts' consensus EPS estimates of $0.60. Net revenue in the quarter rose two percent versus last year's third-quarter to $37.58 billion. This also beat Wall Street consensus revenue expectations of $35.71 billion. At last check, GM shares had climbed a little better than 8 percent to $25.19 in early trade. In the wake of Wednesday's rally, the stock has now added almost 24 percent in 2012, but remains off of its best levels of the year.