Profits at General Motors in the fourth-quarter rose 2 percent from a year ago, but the company fell way short of Wall Street expectations.
GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens told CNBC on Thursday that higher tax rates contributed to about a third of the earnings miss, while restructuring costs made up the rest. In a "Squawk Box" interview, he still described the quarter as "very, very solid results."
GM's North American earnings were $913 million, or 57 cents per share. That compares with $892 million, or 54 cents per share, in the period a year earlier. Revenue rose 3 percent to $40.5 billion.
