DETROIT -

General Motors generated $1.7 billion or $1.03 per fully-diluted share in net income attributable to common stockholders during the third quarter, but Dan Akerson isn’t satisfied.

The chairman and chief executive officer acknowledged, “GM delivered a solid quarter thanks to our leadership positions in North America and China where we have grown both sales and market share this year.  But solid isn’t good enough, even in a tough global economy.

“Our overall results underscore the work we have to do to leverage our scale and further improve our margins everywhere we do business,” Akerson continued.

In the third quarter of last year, GM’s net income attributable to common stockholders was $2.0 billion or $1.20 per fully-diluted share.

GM’s third-quarter net revenue also increased year-over-year, rising $2.6 billion to $36.7 billion. 

The company also highlighted Wednesday that its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) adjusted was $2.2 billion, compared with $2.3 billion in the third quarter of last year. GM indicated there were no special items in either period. 

Industry Reaction to GM’s 3Q

Edmunds.com assembled a series of GM data points before reacting to the automaker’s bottomline performance during the quarter.

Analysts indicated:

—GM’s incentives in the third quarter were down 15.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Through the first three quarters of this year, incentive spending is down 8.1 percent overall.

—GM has been able to improve overall market share in the last year, jumping from 18.6 percent of all sales in third quarter of last year to 20.1 percent this past quarter.

—After GM’s average transaction price fell 3.3 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, it recovered in the third quarter to post a 0.4-percent increase over last year’s third quarter.

—GM’s days to turn — which measures the average time it take for a vehicle to be sold once it hits the dealer lot — was up from 51 days in the second quarter to 58 days in third quarter, which brings the company much closer to the 60 days Edmunds.com believes most automakers strive to achieve.

“General Motors benefited from Japanese automaker struggles in the third quarter and they were able to boost market share while cutting back on incentive spending,” Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell surmised.

“The addition of compelling products like the Chevy Cruze also contributed to their success. But with their Japanese competitors re-emerging, GM will have a tougher fight on their hands in the coming months against refreshed and redesigned offerings like the Toyota Camry and Honda Civic,” Caldwell continued.

Edmunds.com also pointed out GM’s third-quarter earnings announcement comes almost one year to the day after its Nov. 18 initial public offering on Wall Street.

Since its public debut last year, Edmunds.com noted GM stock has fallen almost 30 percent.

“More than anything else, GM’s stock performance is a victim of its own early success,” Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl explained.

“The hype leading up to last year’s IPO was about as well-scripted as you can get. GM lined up institutional investors ahead of time and began a steady drumbeat of good news about 45 days ahead of time,” Anwyl continued.

“But because of tempered overall expectations in the automotive market this year, investors were skeptical of all automotive stocks — and that includes GM, even though its overall financial performance this year has been positive,” he went on to say.

More Details about GM’s 3Q Performance

OEM executives went on to break down GM’s performance by global region:

—GM North America (GMNA) reported EBIT-adjusted of $2.2 billion, an improvement of $0.1 billion compared with the third quarter of last year.

—GM Europe (GME) sustained an EBIT-adjusted loss of $0.3 billion, an improvement of $0.3 billion compared with the third quarter of last year. 

—GM International Operations (GMIO) posted EBIT-adjusted of $0.4 billion, down $0.1 billion from the third quarter of 2010.

—GM South America (GMSA) reported breakeven results on an EBIT-adjusted basis, down $0.2 billion from the third quarter of 2010. 

For the quarter, GM calculated its automotive cash flow from operating activities was $1.8 billion and automotive free cash flow was $0.3 billion. 

The automaker determined that it ended the quarter with strong total automotive liquidity of $38.8 billion. 

OEM officials noted automotive cash and marketable securities, including Canadian Health Care Trust restricted cash, was $33.0 billion, compared with $33.8 billion at the end of the second quarter.

Based on current industry outlook, the company expects EBIT-adjusted results in the fourth quarter will be similar to the fourth quarter last year as a result of seasonal trends in North America and weakness in Europe. 

GM also projects to record a special item in the fourth quarter to recognize an $800 million non-cash settlement gain related to a Canadian Health Care Trust settlement.

Dan Ammann, GM’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, also estimated Calendar-year EBIT-adjusted for 2011 is expected to show solid improvement over 2010, as previously indicated.

However, Ammann does not expect to achieve its target to break even on an EBIT-adjusted basis before restructuring charges in Europe, due to deteriorating economic conditions.

“GM continues to execute the plan we outlined for investors in 2010,” Ammann emphasized.

“That includes investing in our products, further strengthening our balance sheet, generating cash and profits each quarter, and maintaining our low break-even level,” he continued. “The next level of performance will come as we systematically eliminate complexity and cost throughout the organization.”

Reaction from Wall Street

At least one investment analyst expected GM’s financial performance to land about where it did.

“In the face of a lot of headwinds from the global economy, GM continues to do pretty well,” said Channing Smith, a money manager at Capital Advisors in Tulsa, Okla., which manages about $900 million and holds GM shares, told Bloomberg.

“Consumers in the U.S. are going to have to start buying cars again because the average age of cars on the road is very high, and fortunately GM has the right products now,” Smith said in a phone interview for this report before results were released.

Another investment analyst was a bit less optimistic.

“We’re definitely worried about this situation in South America, the slowdown in China,” Citi analyst Itay Michaeli told Reuters. Michaeli currently has a “buy” rating on GM’s shares.

“The big story today is going to be what looks like a pretty disappointing fourth-quarter outlook, Michaeli added in this report, saying he had been expecting an improved performance in the current quarter.

Reuters’ report also had commentary about how GM’s performance could be a sign of the status of the world economy.

Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold said GM’s performance and outlook mirrored the increasing uncertainty for economic growth outside North America.

“To some degree, this feels a little symbolic with what we’re seeing globally,” noted Nesvold, who has a “hold” rating on the stock.