GM up 6% after earnings beat

General Motors beat earnings expectations but missed on revenues in its second quarter results released on Thursday morning.

"The first two quarters of the year were strong as we fully capitalized on a robust North American industry and maintained our strength in China, despite the challenging conditions in that market," said GM CEO Mary Barra in the statement.

"We said our goal was to improve our earnings and margins this year, and we are on-plan. Consistent with that, we believe our results in the second half of the year will be even better than the first half, and we're confident we will meet our 2016 targets."

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.29 for the quarter, up 122% year-over-year, and ahead of estimates for $1.06 according to Bloomberg. Sales totaled $38.2 billion, down from $39.6 billion the previous year, and lower than the forecast for $40.4 billion.

In premarket trading, shares rose 5%.