genuine parts company shares gpc rose 1 in premarket trade thursday after the car parts maker beat fourthquarter earnings estimates and offered guidance that was above consensus atlantabased genuine parts posted net income of 2560 million or 179 a share for the quarter up from 1716 million or 118 a share in the yearearlier period adjusted pershare earnings were also 179 ahead of the 159 factset consensus sales rose 13 to 48 billion from 43 billion a year ago also ahead of the 47 billion factset consensus strong sales growth combined with ongoing initiatives to improve gross margin and control expenses in an inflationary environment drove an 18 increase in adjusted earnings per share which along with our continued focus on working capital improvement helped us to deliver strong cash flow chief executive paul donahue said in a statement the company is now expecting 2022 adjusted eps of 745 to 760 above the factset consensus of 731 it expects sales to grow 9 to 11 compared with a factset consensus that implies growth of about 5 shares have gained 31 in the last 12 months while the sp 500 spx has gained 138