General Motors reported on Tuesday a 21.6% rise in third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to $4.1 billion and approved a new $20 billion share repurchase program, even as its US EV sales fell sharply.
Revenue rose 2.9% to $50.02 billion from $48.59 billion a year earlier, the Detroit-based automaker said in its earnings release.
Net income attributable to stockholders climbed to $3.34 billion from $1.33 billion, a 151.3% increase.
The year-earlier quarter included $1.59 billion of charges tied to GM’s EV pullback, compared with $238 million in the latest quarter.
Earnings before interest and taxes, adjusted (EBIT-adjusted), a non-GAAP measure that excludes special items, reached $4.11 billion, up from $3.38 billion, for a margin of 8.2%, up from 6.9%.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS), also non-GAAP, rose 32.2% to $3.70 from $2.80, the company said, while GAAP diluted EPS was $3.73, up from $1.35.
The adjusted EPS beat the $3.63 analysts expected, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
As of press time, GM shares were falling 5.75% to $77.99.
Guidance and Cash Outlook
GM narrowed its full-year 2026 EBIT-adjusted guidance to $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion, from $14 billion to $16 billion, leaving the $15 billion midpoint unchanged.
It also narrowed its adjusted EPS outlook to $12.75 to $13.75, from $12 to $14.
The company raised its forecast for adjusted automotive free cash flow, another non-GAAP measure, to $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion, from $9.5 billion to $11.5 billion, lifting the midpoint by 14.3%, according to EV’s analysis.
Adjusted automotive free cash flow reached $5.88 billion in the quarter, up 40.0% from $4.20 billion, which GM said in its earnings presentation was a four-year high driven by higher automotive EBIT and tariff timing.
GM said it now expects commodity inflation, including logistics and memory chip (DRAM) costs, of about $2 billion this year, up from a previous range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
Regulatory benefits are now expected at about $500 million, compared with $500 million to $750 million before, while gross tariff costs are expected at the low end of a $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion range.
In April, GM raised its outlook after booking a roughly $500 million tariff-related benefit in the first quarter.
$20 Billion Buyback
GM said it had completed the $6 billion share repurchase program announced in January and that its board had approved a new $20 billion multi-year authorization with no expiration date.
The company bought back $2.5 billion of shares in the third quarter, retiring 29 million shares, and another $1 billion in October, according to the presentation.
GM had 849 million shares outstanding on Sept. 30, down from 904 million at the end of 2025 and 1.543 billion in 2015.
GM has repurchased $42.7 billion of its stock from 2015 through September, cutting its share count by 45%, the company said.
“We think this is a proven strategy,” Chair and CEO Mary Barra wrote in her letter to shareholders, adding that the new authorization “further demonstrates our Board’s commitment to creating even greater shareholder value.”
The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, payable on December 17.
EV Charges Substantially Complete
GM said in its presentation that its EV-related charges are “substantially completed.” It has recorded $11.2 billion of EV-related charges since the second half of 2025, of which $7.4 billion have a cash impact.
The company had paid $4.6 billion of that cash through the end of September, expects to pay about $1 billion more in the fourth quarter and the remainder in 2027.
Third-quarter charges, booked as “EV strategic realignment,” totaled $238 million and were primarily related to “right sizing the battery supply chain with our joint venture partners,” GM said.
For the first nine months, those charges reached $3.59 billion, compared with $1.92 billion a year earlier.
Earlier this year, GM said non-cash charges were primarily tied to converting its Orion Assembly plant from EV to gasoline-vehicle production and its decision to end production of the BrightDrop electric van.
Equity income from Ultium Cells, GM’s battery joint venture with LG Energy Solution, was “insignificant” in the quarter, compared with $213 million a year earlier, according to the earnings release.
GM continues to expect EV losses to improve by $1 billion to $1.5 billion this year.
US EV Sales
GM’s US EV sales fell 61.7% to 25,473 units in the third quarter from 66,501 a year earlier.
Cadillac made up nearly half of those sales, with its four EVs accounting for 12,358 units, or 48.5%.
Sales of the Chevrolet Equinox EV, once GM’s best-selling EV, fell 92.4% to 1,905 units, while the Cadillac Optiq led GM’s EV lineup with 4,550 units, followed by the Chevrolet Bolt with 3,866.
EVs accounted for 3.8% of GM’s 670,974 US sales in the quarter, down from 9.4% a year earlier, and the same share as in the second quarter.
GM’s sales of non-EVs rose 0.3% to 645,501 units.
In North America, GM said higher wholesales of gasoline vehicles, up 53,000 units, were partly offset by 23,000 fewer EV wholesales, while a lower EV mix helped profitability.
North America Margin Widens
GM North America (GMNA) posted EBIT-adjusted of $3.59 billion, up 43.4% from $2.51 billion, the company said, with its margin widening to 8.7% from 6.2%.
GM attributed the improvement to lower warranty costs, EV inventory adjustments, higher wholesale volumes and a stronger mix, partly offset by commodity, logistics and onshoring costs and the launch of its next-generation full-size pickups.
GM International (GMI) EBIT-adjusted fell to $28 million from $226 million, which GM attributed to higher costs and a negative mark-to-market adjustment on its investment in Momenta.
GMI’s margin was 0.7%, down from 6.2%, on revenue of $4.09 billion.
Equity income from GM’s China joint ventures fell to $32 million from $80 million, while GM Financial’s adjusted earnings before taxes fell 16.9% to $668 million.
Software and Batteries
In her letter, Barra said GM is “developing innovative battery technologies like LMR,” referring to lithium manganese-rich cells.
She also said GM is expanding its autonomous capabilities “for the highway, starting with the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028.”
GM delivered about 83,000 vehicles equipped with its Super Cruise hands-free driving system in the third quarter and expects more than 850,000 Super Cruise subscribers by year-end.
OnStar deferred revenue stood at $6.8 billion at the end of September, up about 40% from a year earlier, according to the presentation.11:55 AMresearch
