GM stock jumps 15% after stronger-than-expected Q3 results and raised 2025 guidance

DETROIT — General Motors raised its full-year 2025 guidance on Tuesday after reporting third-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and adjusted earnings, while also reducing its forecast for the impact of tariffs. The stock climbed more than 15% in trading, marking the automaker’s best single-day performance since 2020 and one of its largest one-day gains since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009.

GM reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.80 for the quarter, compared with the $2.31 consensus compiled by LSEG, and posted revenue of $48.59 billion versus expected revenue of $45.27 billion. Adjusted EBIT came in at $3.38 billion, exceeding the $2.72 billion analysts had forecast. Revenue was essentially flat year-on-year, down slightly from $48.76 billion in the same period a year earlier. The adjusted measures exclude certain non-core items and one-time charges.

Buoyed by the quarter’s performance, GM raised its 2025 adjusted EBIT guidance to a range of $12 billion to $13 billion, or $9.75 to $10.50 in adjusted EPS, up from a prior outlook of $10 billion to $12.5 billion, or $8.25 to $10 in adjusted EPS. The company also lifted its adjusted automotive free cash flow forecast to $10 billion–$11 billion from a previous $7.5 billion–$10 billion. Those targets imply fourth-quarter adjusted EPS between $1.64 and $2.39, with a midpoint around $2.02, modestly above current consensus of $1.94.

“Thanks to the collective efforts of our team, and our compelling vehicle portfolio, GM delivered another very good quarter of earnings and free cash flow,” Chief Executive Mary Barra wrote in a shareholder letter. She noted the company’s decision to raise guidance reflected confidence in GM’s outlook.

GM narrowed its estimate of tariff-related impacts for the year to between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion, down from $4 billion to $5 billion, and expects to offset roughly 35% of that burden. Barra thanked President Donald Trump for recent tariff adjustments that included levies on imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts and an extension of an offset equal to 3.75% of the value of U.S.-made vehicles.

The company’s adjusted results exclude $1.6 billion of special charges announced last week tied to its strategic pullback in certain all-electric vehicle programs; those charges contributed to a sharp year-over-year fall in reported net income. GAAP net income attributable to shareholders was $1.3 billion for the quarter, down about 57% from approximately $3.1 billion a year earlier, and the net income margin fell to 2.7% from 6.3% a year prior.

GM Finance Chief Paul Jacobson said roughly 40% of the company’s electric-vehicle models are profitable on a contribution-margin basis, and he cautioned that EV profitability will take longer to achieve than previously expected amid slower adoption. “We continue to believe that there is a strong future for electric vehicles, and we’ve got a great portfolio to be competitive, but we do have some structural changes that we need to do to make sure that we lower the cost of producing those vehicles,” Jacobson told CNBC.

The automaker has made gains in the EV market this year. Motor Intelligence data show GM’s EV market share rose to 13.8% through the third quarter from 8.7% at the start of the year, surpassing Hyundai Motor’s combined share (including Kia) of 8.6%, although GM remains well behind U.S. leader Tesla.

North America continued to be GM’s primary profit engine, delivering more than $2.5 billion in adjusted third-quarter earnings, although the region’s adjusted margin slipped to 6.2% from 9.7% a year earlier. Barra emphasized the company’s priority to restore North American adjusted margins to the 8%–10% range by improving EV profitability, maintaining discipline on production and pricing, managing fixed costs, and further reducing tariff exposure. Stronger performance in China, which improved by $217 million year-on-year, and international markets, up $184 million, helped offset weaker North American results.

GM Financial contributed $804 million in adjusted earnings for the quarter, up 17% versus the third quarter of 2024.