"G.M. Has ‘Reasonable Chance’ of Profit This Year, Its Chief Finance Officer Says" (boycott, cost)

[delusianne]

DETROIT - ...[A] stock offering for the carmaker, which is 60 percent owned by the federal government, is “possible” this year but that executives were in no hurry to hold one.

Mr. Liddell said G.M. would first need to earn a profit and be able to show that it could remain profitable, so that the government could get the most value from its stake. The new-vehicle market and broader economy would also need to improve.
***
Mr. Liddell said G.M. had made significant progress since emerging from bankruptcy protection last summer and that its “preconditions for success are extremely good.”
***
Mr. Liddell [current VP of GM, used to be CFO of Microsoft] said, “Compared to what else I was looking at [jobwise], this was far and above the most interesting, challenging and important. What we’re doing here impacts the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people.”

Profit This Year for G.M. Is Possible, Finance Officer Says - NYTimes.com

[pghquest]

That is what happens when a company gets rid of their liabilities, screwing out all of the investors and individuals GM owed money to..

[delusianne]

They should have kept on bleeding money forever?

[pghquest]

Originally Posted by delusianne

They should have kept on bleeding money forever?

Thats not what would have happened, look at every other car company for an example, or Ford as a prime example.

Stockholders are liabilities, not debts, they dont cost the company money, there is no need to screw them in order to show a "profit"... You screw them if you want to then make a profit and pocket the cash proceeds from re-selling stock, exactly what took place here..

[delusianne]

Are you talking about the stockholders who had about a year to pull out? Or the bondholders, who didnt make out badly after all?

[summers73]

Schadenfreude post.

GM Generates $1 Billion in Cash, Posts $4.3 Billion 2009 Loss - Bloomberg.com

[sanrene]

Originally Posted by delusianne

They should have kept on bleeding money forever?

If they had been allowed to go through a normal bankruptcy, instead of the administration intervening to protect the union, they would probably not be bleeding. As it is, they are STILL bleeding.

[Jaggy001]

We should have let them go out of business.

Now, the taxpayer is down $50 billion and they still posted a $3.4 billion loss in the 4th Q of 2009.

Ford, on the other hand, cost the taxpayer nothing and made a profit. Go figure.

[summers73]

The boycott of GM is probably playing a part in this. Good job folks!

[Marv101]

The new CAFE standards aren't going to do them any favors either, so I'd hold off on popping champagne corks for the Detroit Three.