GM's (NYSE:GM) Latest Quarter Weighed by Rising Costs of Inputs

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) ended its seven-year losing streak on Thursday, banking a $4.7 billion profit for 2010 on the back of resurgent car sales across the broader auto industry.

The most recent quarter, however, was by far the least profitable of the year as costs to roll out new vehicles climbed. Fear that those costs may continue to rise along with concerns over rising oil and raw materials prices also weighed on the shares early.

GM (GM) shares fell almost 4% to $33.35, touching on a low of $32.75 earlier to mark the lowest point since their debut back in November at $33.

For the fourth quarter, GM reported a profit of $510 million, or 31 cents a share, reversing a loss of $3.5 billion in the final months of 2009.

Revenue came in at $36.9 billion for the quarter, well ahead of Wall Street targets, and at $135.6 billion for the full year.

The latest results included charges of $400 million, or 21 cents a share, as a result of the previously disclosed $700 million loss on the purchase of U.S. Treasury preferred shares.

On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected the company to earn 49 cents a share on revenue of $34.3 billion in the quarter.





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