Policy

GM's Earnings Fell for 2012

Profits dropped 36 percent over 2011

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General Motors Co. profits grew substantially in the fourth quarter, but for all of 2012, the company made less money than it did the year before.

GM said its fourth-quarter profit grew 89% to $892 million from the same period a year earlier. For the entire year, profits sank 36% to $4.9 billion as earnings in North America leveled and losses in recession-plagued Europe mounted. Sales rose to $39.3 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $38 billion in the same period a year earlier.

"It was a modest miss but not terribly far off from where [investor] expectations were," said Peter Nesvold, an analyst with Jefferies & Co.