GM Turns Cumulative Profit Clock Back to 1980s
Today GM turned in a jaw-dropping $15-billion second quarter loss. Coming on top of a $3.2-billion first quarter loss, and 2007's $38.7-billion loss, investors are naturally wondering one thing: Is GM now, like the airline industry, cumulatively unprofitable across its entire history as a public company?
An excellent question. Well, as surprising as it might seem, GM has only managed to wipe out its profits back to the mid-1980s. Here are GM cumulative "earnings" for the two periods:
- 2007-present: -$57,483b
- 1985-2006: $59,598b
Not bad, however. GM did manage to wipe out 22 years of results in a mere seven months.
