Auto Industry, Quarterly Earnings | featured news

The automaker, which continues to struggle overseas, posted first-quarter net income of $1.6 billion, beating Wall Street expectations.

Fiat SpA, the Italian automaker that controls Chrysler LLC, saw fourth quarter earnings more than double thanks to strong North American sales that more than compensated for a weak performance in Europe.

General Motors Co on Wednesday posted a far stronger-than-expected profit and said it was targeting a return to break-even levels in its money-losing European operations by mid-decade after a loss of as much as $1.8 billion in that region this year.

General Motors said Thursday that its second-quarter profit fell 41 percent as losses in Europe and South America cut into strong North American earnings.

Chrysler reported its second-quarter profit soared as its predominately North American operations shielded it from the European economic slowdown on plaguing its U.S. competitors.

Toyota Motor Co. wrapped up one of the worst fiscal year’s in the company’s history with an unexpectedly strong final quarter in which it saw earnings more than quadruple.

GM (GM) posted a profit of $1 billion in the first quarter, beating Wall Street expectations on strong demand in its key North American market. GM also said the U.S. economy was improving and it expected its core North American results in the second and third quarters to largely match the first quarter due to scheduled downtime at its large truck plants.

Both companies report rising sales, but Ford Motor Co. says profits fell about 8% compared with the same period last year as the automaker paid off debt and invested in new vehicles.

General Motors says it made $2 billion in the third quarter, a strong showing that helps the company's pitch to investors who may buy stock in an initial public offering.

Ford Motor Co. is on a roll. Its popular new cars and trucks are grabbing a bigger share of the U.S. market. It's about to erase a big portion of its health care debts. And Ford is adding a significant number of jobs for the first time in years.