GM's revenue grew 3.3% in 2026 Q3 from a year earlier. The quarter was its biggest in three years, yet the shares slid in the same window.
A record quarter, at a walking pace
General Motors just had its biggest quarter of the last three years. Automotive revenue reached its highest level in the twelve quarters on the chart in 2026 Q3.
Data table
| period | revenue | yoy |
|---|---|---|
| 2023Q4 | $39.3bn | -1.4% |
| 2024Q1 | $39.2bn | 7.0% |
| 2024Q2 | $44.1bn | 6.8% |
| 2024Q3 | $44.7bn | 10.5% |
| 2024Q4 | $43.6bn | 11.0% |
| 2025Q1 | $39.9bn | 1.7% |
| 2025Q2 | $42.9bn | -2.7% |
| 2025Q3 | $44.3bn | -1.1% |
| 2025Q4 | $41.0bn | -6.0% |
| 2026Q1 | $39.3bn | -1.3% |
| 2026Q2 | $43.8bn | 2.1% |
| 2026Q3 | $45.7bn | 3.3% |
Now the less exciting part. Revenue grew 3.3% against the same quarter a year earlier. That is a touch faster than the 2.1% it managed in 2026 Q2. Stretch the view out and the pace is similar: 4.1% a year over three years. A record level, then, at a slow walking speed. The growth line has swung up and down across these three years rather than moving one way, so one good quarter is not yet a new direction.
The shares went the other way
The market got the news on 20 October, and GM's shares went down in the same window. The number analysts look at here is the abnormal return A stock's price move after taking out the move of a comparison group. It is a way of asking whether a share did something its rivals did not., which simply means the stock's own move minus the move of a peer basket A small group of similar listed companies, averaged together, used as the yardstick for one company's share move. of rival carmakers. On the day of the release that figure was -7.5%.
Data table
| day | series | value | series_role |
|---|---|---|---|
| -5 | General Motors | 2.0% | target |
| -4 | General Motors | 0.8% | target |
| -3 | General Motors | 1.6% | target |
| -2 | General Motors | 1.9% | target |
| -1 | General Motors | 0.5% | target |
| 0 | General Motors | -6.4% | target |
| 1 | General Motors | -7.6% | target |
| 2 | General Motors | -6.3% | target |
| 3 | General Motors | -7.8% | target |
| -5 | Peer basket | -0.4% | peer |
| -4 | Peer basket | -2.3% | peer |
| -3 | Peer basket | -1.8% | peer |
| -2 | Peer basket | -3.7% | peer |
| -1 | Peer basket | -3.4% | peer |
| 0 | Peer basket | -2.7% | peer |
| 1 | Peer basket | -2.2% | peer |
| 2 | Peer basket | -4.1% | peer |
| 3 | Peer basket | -5.8% | peer |
| -5 | Cumulative abnormal return | 2.4% | neutral |
| -4 | Cumulative abnormal return | 3.1% | neutral |
| -3 | Cumulative abnormal return | 3.4% | neutral |
| -2 | Cumulative abnormal return | 5.7% | neutral |
| -1 | Cumulative abnormal return | 3.9% | neutral |
| 0 | Cumulative abnormal return | -3.6% | neutral |
| 1 | Cumulative abnormal return | -5.4% | neutral |
| 2 | Cumulative abnormal return | -2.0% | neutral |
| 3 | Cumulative abnormal return | -1.9% | neutral |
The basket holds 3 peers: Ford, Rivian and Tesla. In the five trading days before the release, GM's abnormal return ran the other way, at 3.9%. Counting from the announcement it adds up to -5.8%. Fewer days have passed since the news than the usual window asks for, so that last figure covers only the days available so far. That is 4 trading days, including the day of the release itself. None of this tells you why the shares moved. It only tells you they moved differently from the neighbours over the same days.
Glossary
- abnormal return
- A stock's price move after taking out the move of a comparison group. It is a way of asking whether a share did something its rivals did not.
- peer basket
- A small group of similar listed companies, averaged together, used as the yardstick for one company's share move.
Cheap next to Tesla, but it is an odd comparison
So is GM cheap? On a P/E Price divided by earnings per share. A rough answer to the question: how many years of current profit am I paying for one share? — the share price divided by a year of earnings per share — GM sits at 16.2x.
Glossary
- P/E
- Price divided by earnings per share. A rough answer to the question: how many years of current profit am I paying for one share?
How many years of current earnings is one GM share priced at?
Actual16.2x
GM sits at 16.2x. Set against a peer median of 376.0x, the two look like different industries, and the median here rests on a single peer.
Show answer
16.2x GM sits at 16.2x. Set against a peer median of 376.0x, the two look like different industries, and the median here rests on a single peer.
The comparison is awkward. Tesla carries a P/E of 376.0x. That gap works out at -95.7% against the peer median. Ford and Rivian are left out because their trailing earnings were not positive. So the median leans on 1 company. My reading is that this says less about a bargain and more about four names being priced as different kinds of business: one sells pickup trucks for cash today, another is valued on what people hope it becomes.
Risks
- One-off items in this quarter's profit are not stripped out in these figures.
- The peer basket is small and its members differ a lot, so the comparison is loose.
- Company guidance has been revised before; past accuracy matters when reading the new outlook.
Sources
- SEC EDGAR XBRL companyfacts, GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY — data as of 2026-09-30; fetched 2026-10-25 16:03 UTC
- FinMind USStockPrice F — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 16:03 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice GM — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 16:02 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice RIVN — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 16:03 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice TSLA — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 16:03 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges