I tweeted this earlier but for those who missed it, let me throw out a few reasons why I don’t buy the “hype” behind the GM IPO/”successful” restructuring/turn-around, in no particular order.
- Government still has huge role. As Michael Steinhardt said on CNBC yesterday, “I don’t think one should be a long-term holder of Government securities, especially equity securities.”
- Still a bit opaque. Sure, they’ve disclosed alot of the things I had questions about (pensions, etc) but its not only a lot to process, with so many moving parts – many of which could turn into problems down the road – that I’d be hesitant to buy into the story (stock) for anything other than any IPO pop + subsequent pop from index purchasing. For more, see this great post I somehow totally spaced on (thanks @rmsnickers!) from Francine McKenna. Preview: Unaudited financials are just a wee bit of a red flag.
- GM’s early leadership position in China is under alot of pressure. Buick is a big draw there, but rest assured, Volkswagen and GM’s other competitors won’t let them enjoy that position for long.
- A successful IPO does not a successful reorg/turnaround make. GM’s employee count is down about 75,000 from pre-bankruptcy and they’ve closed about a dozen plants, but as I said above, its a huge, sprawling company in an intensely competitive industry. Throw in a history of bureaucratic bloat, questionable (at best) product design and basically every aspect of the company from the past 30-ish years and I’m nowhere close to buying into the lean & mean story the company, its underwriters, and the media would have you believe.
- The Chevy Volt is doomed for failure. I’d just as soon chalk up all the recent attention from the Automotive Media up to IPO-related pre-excitement rather than any realistic expectation that it’ll be a commercial success. Without heavy Government subsidies (here we go again with that Government thing again), no one would even consider buying it, save for the most economically ignorant tree-hugging types.
- UAW
- Only time will tell. Not nearly enough time has passed to see this story play out. I seriously advice ignoring anyone who claims otherwise.
Remember, this is just a very short take, each of these bullet points can easily be its own post (if not several).