Growing losses in Europe and warranty costs in North America lowered General Motors' third-quarter profit by 12 percent.

But the company posted better-than-expected results in South America and internationally, and gave a rosier outlook for Europe. Its overall performance soundly beat Wall Street expectations, pushing up the stock price in Wednesday premarket trading.

GM said it earned $1.5 billion from July through September, down from $1.7 billion a year earlier.