General Motors' U.S. Sales Fall 7% in First Quarter, Preview Upcoming Coronavirus Disruption
In a report that gave just a hint of what's to come, General Motors (NYSE: GM) said that its U.S. sales fell 7% in the first quarter from a year ago, with "significant declines" in March due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.
GM didn't break out its sales by month. But if it had, we would have seen a very sharp decline starting roughly in the middle of March. Here's what GM said about its first-quarter sales, and what it might tell us about how auto sales will go over the next few months.
Given the severe disruption in auto sales caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the trends we see in GM's first-quarter numbers won't mean much in the near term. But I think they're important for GM investors (and auto investors generally) to note, as a snapshot of the state of the company's business before the pandemic -- and a possible preview of how things will go once the virus subsides and the country and economy start to recover.
Source Fool.com
