GM Q2 earnings beat expectations on strong pickup in truck sales

General Motors' second quarter results beat analysts' expectations on Thursday, as a pick-up in truck sales offset weakness in China.

The car manufacturing giant reported adjusted second quarter earnings per share of $1.64, below last year's $1.81 but well above the $1.43 that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast.

Meanwhile, revenue came in at $36.1bn to beat expectations of $35.98bn but was lower than 2018's second quarter revenue of $36.8bn, with the results driven by sales of trucks and crossovers, which outweighed lower passenger car sales.

This is positive news for the company as it intends to launch more full-size pickups during the second half of 2019, with two new heavy-duty pickups from Chevrolet and GMC.

North American performance remained strong, with the Chevrolet owner's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rising to $3bn from $2.7bn a year ago as vehicle sales rose almost 11% to 153,000.

But sales in China suffered, selling around 13% less vehicles than in last years second quarter, with sales not expected to improve through the second half of the year due to the nation's economic slowdown, though the company does expect to benefit from the launch of 20 new vehicles in the country.

Mary Barra, chairman and chief executive of GM, said: "Our results demonstrate the earnings power of our full-size truck franchise, with more upside to come. We will continue operating our business with discipline, and the vision needed to deliver a stronger future for our employees, customers and shareholders."

General Motors' shares were up 2.85% at $41.50 at 1611 BST.