GM shares fall on production and sales worries

Shares of General Motors Corp. fell Tuesday on worries about the effects that lower North American vehicle production could have on its bottom line.

KeyBanc's Brett D. Hoselton slashed his 2008 earnings estimate for the Detroit-based automaker to a loss of $2.28 per share from a profit of $3.27 per share. He also dropped his 2009 estimate to a profit of 7 cents per share from a profit of $3.24 per share.

Analysts, on average, expect a loss of $2.15 per share in 2008 and a profit of 85 cents per share in 2009, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Hoselton said his new estimates better reflect GM's profit potential given the lower North American light vehicle production expectations, along with the shift in consumer demand away from pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

GM shares fell $1.01, or 4.8 percent, to $19.86, after falling as low as $19.81 earlier in the day. Over the past 52 weeks, GM shares have traded between $17.47 and $43.20.