Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors Co., during a press conference at the Hudson's building in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., on Monday, April 15, 2024.
Jeff Kowalsky | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT- General engines is proving itself to be a standout among automakers this year, consistently outperforming the earnings expectations of Wall Street and its peers.
Shares of the Detroit automaker are up 54.7% ahead of Monday's open, outperforming older competitors. Tesla and American electric vehicle startups Clear group And Rivian car industry.
“You may still not believe it, but it's true: GM keeps trucking,” BofA Securities analysts John Murphy wrote in an investor note last month after the automaker beat Wall Street's third-quarter expectations.
GM has done this with the help of $12.4 billion in stock buybacks since November of last year, which the automaker says will continue for the foreseeable future. But it also proves that it is operationally better than its crosstown rivals Ford engine and Chrysler parent Stellantisas well as other industry peers.
General Motors vs. Ford Motor Stocks
CEO and Chairman Mary Barra has touted this kind of differentiation for years, but it has largely fallen on deaf ears. For the most part, GM shares have traded in lockstep with Ford due to their history and the cyclical nature of the auto industry.
But not this year. Ford shares are down 10% as of Friday's close. Others, including Ferrariwhich is among the best performing auto companies on Wall Street, also follows GM.
Even as Tesla's shares have risen more than 30% in the past week after newly elected President Donald Trump won the US presidential election, the electric vehicle maker continues to chase GM. Tesla CEO Elon Musk campaigned heavily for Trump.
- General Motors (GM): 54.7%
- Ferrari (RAS): 34.3%
- Tesla (TSLA): 29.3%
- Hyundai Motor* (HYMTF): 27.9%
- BYD Co.* (BYDDF): 27.2%
- Toyota engine (TM): decline of 6.2%
- Ford (F): 10% decline
- Honda engine (HMC): decrease of 13.3%
- Volkswagen* (VWAGY): decline of 28.2%
- Nissan engine* (NSANY): 36.1% drop
- Li Auto (LI): decrease of 36.8%
- Stellantis (STLA): down 42.5%
- Nio Inc. (NIO): decline of 43.9%
- Clear (LCID): 47.5% drop
- Rivian (RIVN): 54.9% drop
* Over-the-counter shares
GM, unlike many competitors, has not lowered its 2024 guidance nor has it underperformed Wall Street's quarterly earnings estimates. Instead, the company has actually raised key financial targets despite ongoing market challenges in the US and its Chinese operations losing hundreds of millions of dollars due to increased competition.
Although GM has said it is cutting costs, it did not have to be as aggressive as other automakers this year. Nissan, Volkswagen and Stellantis are implementing large-scale corporate restructurings, including layoffs, production cuts and other cost-cutting measures.
GM shares under Barra, who began leading the automaker in January 2014, have been lackluster for investors for most of her tenure. The average closing share price under her tenure is $38 per share – lower than the closing price of $40.02 per share before she became CEO, according to data from FactSet.
Cumulatively, as of Friday's close, shares are up 38.9% under Barra's tenure. That compares to a nearly 300% increase for the S&P 500 over that period. GM's highest stock price under Barra was $67.21 on January 5, 2022, when Barra presented GM's EV ambitions and growth plans.
Whether GM can continue its winning streak next year remains to be seen, but the automaker has said it expects the company's 2025 performance to be in line with this year, including a signal of a weaker fourth quarter.
Barra reiterated her position during the quarterly results discussion on October 22 that GM will continue to “build on our competitive strengths and deliver the performance that sets us apart from others in the industry.”
“We will be disciplined and resilient, and we will make adjustments as we can to continue driving growth and profitability,” Barra said. “In the coming weeks and months, you will see more clearly than ever how we plan to leverage the tailwinds we can control to deliver strong results in 2025 on par with 2024.”
GM shares are averagely overweight with a price target of $59.85 per share, according to average Wall Street estimates compiled by FactSet.