Automakers are scheduled to report first quarter sales numbers tomorrow with Ford Motor (F), Fiat Chrysler, and General Motors (GM) all expected to snow big declines.
And the next quarter looks even worse. “There are basically no U.S. auto sales right now,” Adam Jonas, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, wrote in a March 27 report. “Investors have fully embraced the reality that the U.S. auto industry may be shut down for one or two full months. We’re now being asked to run scenarios of six-month or nine-month shutdowns.”
Market researcher Edmunds sees the industry’s annualized selling rate slowing to 11.9 million in March. That would be the worst selling rate since the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan and interrupted shipments of cars and components for months.
I own shares of General Motors in both my Jubak Picks 12-18 month portfolio and in my Dividend Portfolio. I’m willing to hold GM for its dividend–which I think will be paid for next quarter–but I’d like to cut my exposure by half. So I’m selling General Motors out of my Jubak Picks Portfolio with a 43.21% loss since I added it to that portfolio, as an undervalued stock, on December 17, 2019. The shares are down 2.72% as of 3:40 p.m. New York time on Tuesday.
