More than a few analysts were curious to see how Mary Barra would handle delivering bad news on her first earnings call as CEO of General Motors, when she reported that fourth-quarter profit had come in well below expectations.
What those analysts got was a vintage dose of Barra being Barra.
Take the following exchange between Barra and Morgan Stanley Analyst Adam Jonas.
Jonas: "If you were to isolate the single biggest challenge or threat facing the company—both in your domestic market and then separately in your international markets—love to hear your thoughts."
Barra: "Well, I guess I will …"
Jonas: "Keep in mind, I'm a glass-half-empty kind of guy, so sorry."
Barra: "OK, and I'm a glass-half-full kind of person, so I would kind of characterize it as opportunities. I mean, clearly, I think we've got a strong product cadence. I think we're getting the recognition in the product cadence, but we need to continue to build our brands."
The bottom line: Barra is not going to change the game plan for expanding GM's business.
(See: GM's European money pit)
