Investor's Corner
GM reports strong Q1 Earnings, prepares to navigate semiconductor shortage
General Motors (NYSE: GM) reported its Q1 2021 Earnings on Wednesday morning, showing a well-performing financial spreadsheet that was supported by the automaker’s ability to beat Wall Street’s expectations. GM is working on expanding its fleet of all-electric vehicles and has several models planned for release in the coming years, but it will first have to prepare to navigate through a global semiconductor shortage that has caused delays and closures across the automotive industry.
GM reported an adjusted Earnings per Share of $2.25, handily beating the $1.04 that Wall Street analysts estimated according to Refinitiv. Additionally, its Revenue figures fell just short of the analyst expectations. GM reported $32.47 billion, while Wall Street expected $32.67 billion. The company solidified its expectations for the rest of 2021, forecasting $10 billion to $11 billion, or $4.50 to $5.25 per share in adjusted pretax profits. Additionally, the company expects the adjusted free cash flow to be between $1 billion and $2 billion for the year. These expectations and predictions already had the global semiconductor chip shortage factored in and included an expected decrease in earnings of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. GM also anticipates a decrease of between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion in free cash flow.
Shares of GM were up 3.3%, trading at $57.19 at 10:54 EST.
“The speed and agility of our team are front and center as we move from managing through a pandemic to managing the global semiconductor shortage,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders. “This remains a challenging period for the company as we emerge from 2020, but the team continues to demonstrate its ability to manage complex situations.”
Despite the factored decreases in some financial statistics, Barra still expects a strong first half of 2021. The company expects about $5.5 billion in pretax and adjusted earnings, according to the shareholder letter.
“These strong results demonstrate once again the underlying strength of our business, especially in North America and China, and at GM Financial. We continue to execute our strategy and make significant progress on our transition to an all-electric future with the growth opportunities it creates,” Barra added.
GM is beginning to transition its product line to more electric cars while beginning a slow phase-out of gas-powered vehicles. The company has already committed to an all-electric lineup and a stoppage of gas-powered engine production in 2035. Barra’s letter to shareholders outlined the company’s “significant strides” that include:
- We are preparing to launch the redesigned Chevrolet Bolt EV and new Bolt EUV this summer, and we confirmed a high-volume battery-electric Silverado for both fleet and retail customers, with a GM-estimated 400 miles of range on a full charge for certain configurations.
- We unveiled the stunning production version of the Cadillac LYRIQ nine months earlier than planned because of our virtual engineering and software expertise.
- We unveiled a second GMC HUMMER EV model – the GMC HUMMER EV SUV – which will feature in-house developed, software-driven technologies, including CrabWalk, Extract Mode, and many more industry-leading features.
- We continue to expand the availability and capabilities of Super Cruise, the industry’s first true hands-free driver-assistance system.
- We introduced BrightDrop, a business created to help commercial delivery fleets maximize productivity, improve safety and reduce their carbon footprint. We are on track to begin delivering EV600 vans to our first customer, FedEx Express, later this year.
- We announced that Ultium Cells LLC, our joint venture with LG Energy Solution, will begin construction of a new battery cell plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. It will open in 2023, a year after our Lordstown, Ohio cell plant.
- We signed a joint development agreement and increased our investment in SolidEnergy Systems, one of several companies we are working with to help commercialize lithium-metal batteries, which have incredible potential to deliver even better EV performance, more range, and lower costs for customers.
- We joined new investors Microsoft and Walmart in a $2.75-billion fundraising round for Cruise,
which also announced an agreement with Dubai to deploy up to 4,000 self-driving Cruise Origin
taxis by 2030. - We will build two large EVs for Honda using our Ultium technology – one SUV for the Honda
brand, and one for the Acura brand. - We revealed Ultium Charge 360, an innovative and holistic approach that integrates charging
networks with our mobile apps and other products and services to simplify the charging experience for our EV customers.
GM’s net income was $3 billion in Q1, a huge increase compared to the same quarter in 2020, where the automaker only reported a $294 million income. The large increase in income can be attributed to GM’s strategy to control the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Q1 2020, where some of the company’s factories were shuttered, CNBC said.
Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli responded to rumors of an imminent bankruptcy that was reportedly being mulled after a report stated the automaker was working with the firm AlixPartners to iron out its next steps.
The company felt a massive loss on Wall Street yesterday, as the report essentially pushed the stock down as much as 55 percent on Tuesday.
The report, published initially by Eletric-Vehicles.com, claimed Lucid was essentially in dire straits and was told by AlixPartners, a commonly used restructuring advisor, to either take shares private or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Lucid’s head of Communications, Nick Twork, immediately challenged the report and stated the company “has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year.”
Now, the company’s CEO is chiming in as well, stating that the report is “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Napoli said:
“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private. Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period.
As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.
We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.
My priority is clear: turn this company around. That is where the leadership team and I are focused.
I look forward to providing a full update during our quarterly earnings call on August 4th.”
🚨 Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli calls rumors of financial issues “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Read his full remarks here: https://t.co/t3Pg1NHvzy pic.twitter.com/LvHUPhO4Qf
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 15, 2026
It seems pretty clear that Lucid is confident things will be okay, and, to be honest, they should not have much to worry about, especially considering the company has been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for years. It has solid financial backing, and its sales, while weak, are pretty much right on par with a company of this age.
Lucid also sent a Cease & Desist letter to the publication for their report.
Lucid shares have rebounded nicely and are up nearly 21 percent at the time of publication. As soon as the company dispelled the rumors of bankruptcy yesterday, the stock began to climb back toward more reasonable levels.
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.
Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”
Twork said:
$LCID The rumors are completely false. The company has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year, as recently published in its last quarterly filings, and it has not formed any special Board committee to explore the scenarios reported today. Our focus is…
— Nick Twork (@ntwork) July 14, 2026
Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.
Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.
Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.
Tesla received a price target upgrade just on the heels of what was a crazy successful quarter for its automotive business, as the company reported a delivery beat of over 15 percent for Q2.
Jefferies analysts are upping Tesla’s price target (NASDAQ: TSLA) to $400 from $375, while maintaining their “Hold” rating on shares, and the strong automotive deliveries from Q2 is a big reason. However, there are some other catalysts that Jefferies believes position Tesla for a strong position in the second half of the year.
Strong Deliveries
Tesla reported 480,000 deliveries for Q2, while Wall Street was between 395,000 and 405,000, as an overall consensus. It was an incredibly strong quarter from a delivery perspective, and Tesla sold well more than it produced during the three months.
Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent
While vehicle deliveries are not necessarily looked at in the light that they used to be, Tesla still maintains a lot of advantages for keeping deliveries strong. With the loss of the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year, Tesla still maintains a strong demand case for its EVs.
Robotaxi Performance
Tesla has been operating Robotaxi for over a year now, as it launched in Austin in mid-2025. That program has expanded to Houston and Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and, most recently, Miami, Florida, the suite’s first appearance in the Sunshine State.
While the Robotaxi suite is still in its early phases and Tesla is working through things like fleet size and wait times, the company has been able to undercut the pricing of its competitors and has a great safety record.
Merger Speculation with Tesla and SpaceX
This is perhaps the biggest topic that many are speaking about with Tesla and SpaceX, and it is the one thing that seems to be on the mind of every investor.
Jefferies warns that growing talk of a Tesla-SpaceX merger could cause Tesla stock to trade more like a SpaceX proxy, which may disconnect it from underlying automotive fundamentals. SpaceX has a lot going for it, especially its compute deals that have been widely publicized as of late.
Profitability in New Projects Could Take Some Time
Tesla has a few long-term ventures in the pipeline, most notably the Optimus project and Robotaxi, which is launched but will take several years to expand to a meaningful level that resonates with everyday people.
This is something that investors need to be careful of. Tesla’s projects could take some time to round out, so Jefferies advises that these may carry initial losses, rather than immediate profit. Seasoned Tesla investors have echoed something like this for a long time; they knew going in it would not be an open-and-shut strategy. It was going to take time.
These new projects are no different.
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