GM: worlds biggest bankrupt company. Signs of Trouble?
05-22-12, 11:02 AM
#31
Lexus Test Driver
Instead of bailing out GM again and complaining about it we're gonna have to try something different. So let's come up with some new ideas.
-Maybe GM should be sold to another car company similar to what happened to Chrysler. At least Chyrsler is still around it's just owned by Fiat. The new Dodge Viper looks good.
-Maybe GM can focus on building heavy machinery/equipment instead of building cars as edgeucated mentioned earlier.
-Maybe GM can shrink even further by discontinuing Buick and GMC and just keep Chevrolet for the mainstream vehicles and keep Cadillac as the luxury divsion. I understand Buick is doing well in China but maybe GM can absorb Buick into Cadillac.
-It appears GM is cutting heavily on expenses bigtime by not advertising on Facebook and the superbowl which is fine. GM will have to hunker down and prioritize which expenses will need to cut and which they can allow kinda like what Carlos Ghosen did for Nissan but this only works for a short period of time which should not be a long term goal. (heavy expense cutting)
Obviously no banks are gonna loan money to GM and our Government has given GM plenty of money. Any other ideas out there to save GM?
-Maybe GM should be sold to another car company similar to what happened to Chrysler. At least Chyrsler is still around it's just owned by Fiat. The new Dodge Viper looks good.
-Maybe GM can focus on building heavy machinery/equipment instead of building cars as edgeucated mentioned earlier.
-Maybe GM can shrink even further by discontinuing Buick and GMC and just keep Chevrolet for the mainstream vehicles and keep Cadillac as the luxury divsion. I understand Buick is doing well in China but maybe GM can absorb Buick into Cadillac.
-It appears GM is cutting heavily on expenses bigtime by not advertising on Facebook and the superbowl which is fine. GM will have to hunker down and prioritize which expenses will need to cut and which they can allow kinda like what Carlos Ghosen did for Nissan but this only works for a short period of time which should not be a long term goal. (heavy expense cutting)
Obviously no banks are gonna loan money to GM and our Government has given GM plenty of money. Any other ideas out there to save GM?
For B2B ads, FB has been a poor performer in terms of ROI and fpr B2C GM isn’t the only one questioning is that the best place to spend ad dollars. Advertising, media, PR and marketing, especially digital marketing is changing at a rapid pace and for companies this size it’s easy to blow $5MM and see no results, so them taking a step back and saying “hey, we really need to figure out where our dollar goes the furthest” isn’t a bad thing.
05-22-12, 11:04 AM
#32
Lexus Test Driver
fyi about the health of GM
Income Statement
Revenue (ttm):
151.84B
Revenue Per Share (ttm):
97.77
Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy):
4.30%
Gross Profit (ttm):
19.05B
EBITDA (ttm)6:
13.40B
Net Income Avl to Common (ttm):
5.44B
Diluted EPS (ttm):
3.32
Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy):
-60.90%
Balance Sheet
Total Cash (mrq):
31.46B
Total Cash Per Share (mrq):
20.09
Total Debt (mrq):
14.22B
Total Debt/Equity (mrq):
35.44
Current Ratio (mrq):
1.22
Book Value Per Share (mrq):
18.43
Cash Flow Statement
Operating Cash Flow (ttm):
11.04B
Levered Free Cash Flow (ttm):
3.72B
Income Statement
Revenue (ttm):
151.84B
Revenue Per Share (ttm):
97.77
Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy):
4.30%
Gross Profit (ttm):
19.05B
EBITDA (ttm)6:
13.40B
Net Income Avl to Common (ttm):
5.44B
Diluted EPS (ttm):
3.32
Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy):
-60.90%
Balance Sheet
Total Cash (mrq):
31.46B
Total Cash Per Share (mrq):
20.09
Total Debt (mrq):
14.22B
Total Debt/Equity (mrq):
35.44
Current Ratio (mrq):
1.22
Book Value Per Share (mrq):
18.43
Cash Flow Statement
Operating Cash Flow (ttm):
11.04B
Levered Free Cash Flow (ttm):
3.72B
05-22-12, 11:54 AM
#33
Moderator
Accounting data is basically historical data meaning it already happened already and we just categorize and report financial information.
I attached a link showing GM's annual income statement for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Yes it appears income is going up but as I mentioned earlier it was in the past. As of current we read articles that GM pulled the plug on some major advertising, GM's stock is down, etc, etc...
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GM&annual
Also is the quarterly income statement and it appears flat.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GM
Yes I agree GM should fix customer service. Customer service goes a long way. If you get bad service the whole world knows. If you get good service no one notices but if you get great service word gets around...
I attached a link showing GM's annual income statement for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Yes it appears income is going up but as I mentioned earlier it was in the past. As of current we read articles that GM pulled the plug on some major advertising, GM's stock is down, etc, etc...
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GM&annual
Also is the quarterly income statement and it appears flat.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GM
As a former GM owner (and long time sufferer). Most of their problems exist with the dealer network and how that is managed and supported. Ask any GM customer and they are normally not treated all that well by their dealers. GM Forums are littered with dealers refusing warranty claims, or just being completely unable to fix anything.
I have personally witnessed dealer staff treat even their best high end Cadillac customers like total crap. I bought my GS second hand not from a dealer, and I get WAY better service then I have ever received from any GM dealer where I bought cars new.
Fix the customer service issues at the dealers and the customers will come back. fail to do that and GM will continue to lose market share until the are insolvent (again) and this time which ever party is in the White House, they will be done, and it will end in total liquidation.
I have personally witnessed dealer staff treat even their best high end Cadillac customers like total crap. I bought my GS second hand not from a dealer, and I get WAY better service then I have ever received from any GM dealer where I bought cars new.
Fix the customer service issues at the dealers and the customers will come back. fail to do that and GM will continue to lose market share until the are insolvent (again) and this time which ever party is in the White House, they will be done, and it will end in total liquidation.
Last edited by Trexus; 05-22-12 at 11:59 AM.
05-22-12, 11:56 AM
#34
Lexus Test Driver
who cares about 2009-2010, everyone was in the dumps!
and flat growth doesnt = going out of business
I spend a crap load on marketing every year, I fully understand the desire to pull out of FB..........
and flat growth doesnt = going out of business
I spend a crap load on marketing every year, I fully understand the desire to pull out of FB..........
05-22-12, 12:07 PM
#35
Moderator
2009 and 2010 is used to compare financial information.
05-22-12, 12:21 PM
#36
Lexus Test Driver
Instead of bailing out GM again and complaining about it we're gonna have to try something different. So let's come up with some new ideas.
-Maybe GM should be sold to another car company similar to what happened to Chrysler. At least Chyrsler is still around it's just owned by Fiat. The new Dodge Viper looks good.
-Maybe GM can focus on building heavy machinery/equipment instead of building cars as edgeucated mentioned earlier.
-Maybe GM can shrink even further by discontinuing Buick and GMC and just keep Chevrolet for the mainstream vehicles and keep Cadillac as the luxury divsion. I understand Buick is doing well in China but maybe GM can absorb Buick into Cadillac.
-It appears GM is cutting heavily on expenses bigtime by not advertising on Facebook and the superbowl which is fine. GM will have to hunker down and prioritize which expenses will need to cut and which they can allow kinda like what Carlos Ghosen did for Nissan but this only works for a short period of time which should not be a long term goal. (heavy expense cutting)
Obviously no banks are gonna loan money to GM and our Government has given GM plenty of money. Any other ideas out there to save GM?
-Maybe GM should be sold to another car company similar to what happened to Chrysler. At least Chyrsler is still around it's just owned by Fiat. The new Dodge Viper looks good.
-Maybe GM can focus on building heavy machinery/equipment instead of building cars as edgeucated mentioned earlier.
-Maybe GM can shrink even further by discontinuing Buick and GMC and just keep Chevrolet for the mainstream vehicles and keep Cadillac as the luxury divsion. I understand Buick is doing well in China but maybe GM can absorb Buick into Cadillac.
-It appears GM is cutting heavily on expenses bigtime by not advertising on Facebook and the superbowl which is fine. GM will have to hunker down and prioritize which expenses will need to cut and which they can allow kinda like what Carlos Ghosen did for Nissan but this only works for a short period of time which should not be a long term goal. (heavy expense cutting)
Obviously no banks are gonna loan money to GM and our Government has given GM plenty of money. Any other ideas out there to save GM?
05-22-12, 12:23 PM
#37
You guys should go to the actual article. This is not a reflection of the health of GM at all and speaks more to advertisers reaching thier limit on what they spend. GM wants to make better use of their money.
General Motors Co. GM +0.60%said it will forgo advertising in the next Super Bowl rather than swallow a price hike, a surprising reversal of strategy that comes as the auto maker overhauls its global marketing operations.
Super Bowl advertising is effective but has become too expensive to justify the cost, Joel Ewanick, GM's global marketing chief, said in an interview. Ads for next year's National Football League championship game are up about 9%, selling for about $3.8 million for a 30-second spot, according to media buyers.
"It's just getting too expensive," Mr. Ewanick said on Friday. "And we're not just going to do the same thing every year."
It's Mr. Ewanick's second high-profile move this week as he shakes up marketing at GM, the nation's third-largest buyer of media advertizing, rattling ad shops and media companies along the way.
On Tuesday, GM said it would stop paid ads on Facebook, and instead rely on the website's free content, because the company felt paid ads did little to influence consumer automobile purchases. That controversial move, two days ahead of Facebook's initial public offering on Thursday, grabbed attention.
Pulling out of the next SuperBowl, which will be broadcast by CBS, is an unexpected move for Mr. Ewanick, who has been a big believer in the value of advertising for the event but is known for unorthodox moves. Earlier this year, he had two rivals—Omnicom Group Inc. OMC +0.78%and Interpublic Group of Cos. IPG +0.42%—create a new ad firm to service the auto maker's Chevrolet brand.
Mr. Ewanick is racing to make over GM's massive global marketing operations, which last year spent $4.7 billion on ads.
Part of that overhaul includes emphasizing markets outside of the U.S., where GM is either struggling or angling to expand in up-and-coming markets.
The moves come shortly after the GM shifted its massive ad buying account to a new firm, cut back on the number of creative agencies used and streamlined its ad production. Mr. Ewanick has said that the moves would save the more than $2 billion over the next five years.
GM is in the process of evaluating all its media properties in an effort to maximize the efficiency of its ad budget, GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said. The auto maker isn't cutting its ad budget, he said.
GM is the third largest Super Bowl advertisers, following Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BT +1.26%and PepsiCo Inc. PEP +0.29%and has shelled out about $82 million on Super Bowl ad time between 2002-2011, according to Kantar Media, an ad-tracking firm owned by WPP PLC. WPPGY +0.57%
Ad time for last season's game in February cost about $3.5 million for 30 seconds, according to media buyers, and have risen about 59% since 2001, when a spot sold for roughly $2.2 million.
GM pulled out of the Super Bowl in 2009 amid the company's financial crisis and returned two years later under Mr. Ewanick to promote its Chevrolet brand.
While Super Bowl spots are the priciest real estate on TV, most marketers firmly believe they are worth every penny. Nowadays advertisers are able to get more mileage out of the ad buy because the commercials get so much attention on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
In many cases Super Bowl ads also receive tens of millions of views online the weeks and month before Super Bowl. For instance, Volkswagen AG's VOW.XE +4.37%2012 Super Bowl ad, which featured a chubby dog getting into shape, has over 14 million views on YouTube.
GM made a big splash in the 2012 game. One ad that mocked rival Ford Motor Co.'s F +0.30%pickup truck ignited an online spat between the companies that generated buzz for days. Another ad, for the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact car, was the third most effective ad at driving up purchase consideration among consumers, according to auto research website Edmunds.com.
GM's retreat comes amid intensifying concerns within the TV industry about the rising cost of sports programming.
Helping fuel rising costs has been Advertisers' willingness to pay higher rates to secure time on sports programming is adding fuel to those rising costs.
With audiences fragmenting among hundreds of channels and alternative entertainment options such as social media and online viewing, football particularly is one of the few programs that still draws tens of millions of viewers who watch live. That gives the networks much-needed leverage with advertisers.
GM's withdrawal suggests however that there could be a limit to what marketers are willing to pay.
Late last year, the NFL sealed a $27.9 billion TV deal with News Corp.'s NWSA +0.67%Fox, CBS Corp. CBS -0.29%and NBC, which is controlled by Comcast Corp. CMCSA +1.25%The networks agreed to pay about 63% more on average to air NFL games from 2014 to 2022.
Super Bowl advertising is effective but has become too expensive to justify the cost, Joel Ewanick, GM's global marketing chief, said in an interview. Ads for next year's National Football League championship game are up about 9%, selling for about $3.8 million for a 30-second spot, according to media buyers.
"It's just getting too expensive," Mr. Ewanick said on Friday. "And we're not just going to do the same thing every year."
It's Mr. Ewanick's second high-profile move this week as he shakes up marketing at GM, the nation's third-largest buyer of media advertizing, rattling ad shops and media companies along the way.
On Tuesday, GM said it would stop paid ads on Facebook, and instead rely on the website's free content, because the company felt paid ads did little to influence consumer automobile purchases. That controversial move, two days ahead of Facebook's initial public offering on Thursday, grabbed attention.
Pulling out of the next SuperBowl, which will be broadcast by CBS, is an unexpected move for Mr. Ewanick, who has been a big believer in the value of advertising for the event but is known for unorthodox moves. Earlier this year, he had two rivals—Omnicom Group Inc. OMC +0.78%and Interpublic Group of Cos. IPG +0.42%—create a new ad firm to service the auto maker's Chevrolet brand.
Mr. Ewanick is racing to make over GM's massive global marketing operations, which last year spent $4.7 billion on ads.
Part of that overhaul includes emphasizing markets outside of the U.S., where GM is either struggling or angling to expand in up-and-coming markets.
The moves come shortly after the GM shifted its massive ad buying account to a new firm, cut back on the number of creative agencies used and streamlined its ad production. Mr. Ewanick has said that the moves would save the more than $2 billion over the next five years.
GM is in the process of evaluating all its media properties in an effort to maximize the efficiency of its ad budget, GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said. The auto maker isn't cutting its ad budget, he said.
GM is the third largest Super Bowl advertisers, following Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BT +1.26%and PepsiCo Inc. PEP +0.29%and has shelled out about $82 million on Super Bowl ad time between 2002-2011, according to Kantar Media, an ad-tracking firm owned by WPP PLC. WPPGY +0.57%
Ad time for last season's game in February cost about $3.5 million for 30 seconds, according to media buyers, and have risen about 59% since 2001, when a spot sold for roughly $2.2 million.
GM pulled out of the Super Bowl in 2009 amid the company's financial crisis and returned two years later under Mr. Ewanick to promote its Chevrolet brand.
While Super Bowl spots are the priciest real estate on TV, most marketers firmly believe they are worth every penny. Nowadays advertisers are able to get more mileage out of the ad buy because the commercials get so much attention on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
In many cases Super Bowl ads also receive tens of millions of views online the weeks and month before Super Bowl. For instance, Volkswagen AG's VOW.XE +4.37%2012 Super Bowl ad, which featured a chubby dog getting into shape, has over 14 million views on YouTube.
GM made a big splash in the 2012 game. One ad that mocked rival Ford Motor Co.'s F +0.30%pickup truck ignited an online spat between the companies that generated buzz for days. Another ad, for the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact car, was the third most effective ad at driving up purchase consideration among consumers, according to auto research website Edmunds.com.
GM's retreat comes amid intensifying concerns within the TV industry about the rising cost of sports programming.
Helping fuel rising costs has been Advertisers' willingness to pay higher rates to secure time on sports programming is adding fuel to those rising costs.
With audiences fragmenting among hundreds of channels and alternative entertainment options such as social media and online viewing, football particularly is one of the few programs that still draws tens of millions of viewers who watch live. That gives the networks much-needed leverage with advertisers.
GM's withdrawal suggests however that there could be a limit to what marketers are willing to pay.
Late last year, the NFL sealed a $27.9 billion TV deal with News Corp.'s NWSA +0.67%Fox, CBS Corp. CBS -0.29%and NBC, which is controlled by Comcast Corp. CMCSA +1.25%The networks agreed to pay about 63% more on average to air NFL games from 2014 to 2022.
05-22-12, 12:51 PM
#39
Guest
Posts: n/a
. It got people talking and got the car noticed that i don't think any other media channel could have done in 30 seconds. As for FB it all depends on how effectively they are using the money allocated there. What FB offers is the personal recommendation from people recommending a product or showcasing it (or even hating it).
There is an article in "Entrepreneur" magazine (Richard Branson on the cover) explaining how too many companies rely our outsourcing or just doing standardized responses to social media and it comes off like cheap cologne and you really are not interacting with anyone. Can't say I've been to GM's FB page but maybe it needs some help.
Social media should be "social". Not responses like a ****ing robot or limited by severe cases of censorship.
Its also odd they pulled it 2 days before the IPO.....
05-22-12, 01:17 PM
#40
GM is not experiencing flat growth. with the exception of 2011 GM has lost market share at a fairly consistent rate since there was a peanut farmer in the white house. Boom, Bust, or Flat. Economy, didn't matter, another year goes by and GM lost more customers.
New "smaller" GM will make money, since much of their debt load, pension and union issues have been "helped" by the bailout and Ch11 exercise, but rest assured there will come again a new tipping point where if the customers continue to flee GM, they will once again find itself losing money. And as I posted before, there won't be a second bailout.
Last edited by 2008GSh; 05-22-12 at 01:27 PM.
05-22-12, 01:22 PM
#41
Moderator
05-22-12, 01:26 PM
#42
The IPO is going to be the cluster **** of this decade, and will likely be litigated for the next 10 years. It is now being alleged and is clear to anyone who knows how the market works that all kinds of insider info was being leaked about the IPO all over the place.
The fact that the market opening was "halted" for almost an hour while the NASDAQ could try and balance all of the buys (which mostly came from "retail" brokers) and the sells (which came from "commercial" brokers) just smells REALLY bad.
http://www.businessinsider.com/faceb...recasts-2012-5
Any broker who let one of his clients buy this mess at 100X earnings should be offered a new job where they check bags at Walmart.
Facebook is quite possibly the worlds largest Pump and Dump.
The fact that the market opening was "halted" for almost an hour while the NASDAQ could try and balance all of the buys (which mostly came from "retail" brokers) and the sells (which came from "commercial" brokers) just smells REALLY bad.
http://www.businessinsider.com/faceb...recasts-2012-5
Any broker who let one of his clients buy this mess at 100X earnings should be offered a new job where they check bags at Walmart.
Facebook is quite possibly the worlds largest Pump and Dump.
Last edited by 2008GSh; 05-22-12 at 01:36 PM.
05-22-12, 06:26 PM
#43
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by 2008GSh
As a former GM owner (and long time sufferer). Most of their problems exist with the dealer network and how that is managed and supported. Ask any GM customer and they are normally not treated all that well by their dealers. GM Forums are littered with dealers refusing warranty claims, or just being completely unable to fix anything.
I have personally witnessed dealer staff treat even their best high end Cadillac customers like total crap. I bought my GS second hand not from a dealer, and I get WAY better service then I have ever received from any GM dealer where I bought cars new.
Fix the customer service issues at the dealers and the customers will come back. fail to do that and GM will continue to lose market share until the are insolvent (again) and this time which ever party is in the White House, they will be done, and it will end in total liquidation.
I have personally witnessed dealer staff treat even their best high end Cadillac customers like total crap. I bought my GS second hand not from a dealer, and I get WAY better service then I have ever received from any GM dealer where I bought cars new.
Fix the customer service issues at the dealers and the customers will come back. fail to do that and GM will continue to lose market share until the are insolvent (again) and this time which ever party is in the White House, they will be done, and it will end in total liquidation.
05-22-12, 06:41 PM
#44
Lexus Fanatic
The Buick Verano, especially, strikes me as having excellent build quality, especially compared to some of its own sister Buicks.....some of which, as you note, are not impressive at all. It's also a real pleasure to ride in and drive.
05-22-12, 07:00 PM
#45
If you are a GMC tech, I would assume that you work mostly on trucks and SUVs, not cars (with GMC trucks/SUVs, of course, being virtually identical mechanically to their Chevy-badged counterparts). Still, with the very latest-generation GM cars, like the Cruze, Verano, Sonic, etc... it's probably too early to gauge long-term reliability for them.....they have been on the road only a year or less. But there's little question that fit/finish, interiors, drivetrain flexibility, and vehicle-refinement are far superior on the latest ones.
The Buick Verano, especially, strikes me as having excellent build quality, especially compared to some of its own sister Buicks.....some of which, as you note, are not impressive at all. It's also a real pleasure to ride in and drive.
The Buick Verano, especially, strikes me as having excellent build quality, especially compared to some of its own sister Buicks.....some of which, as you note, are not impressive at all. It's also a real pleasure to ride in and drive.
Now, don't get me wrong, I make a ton of money fixing their junk, but, in comparison, the last Toyota I replaced ball joints on was a 350k mile Land Cruiser, and to be honest, I can't ever remember replacing them on any others...