---
title: "General Motors stock falls before the open despite a beat and a $20 billion buyback"
url: "https://etf.net/news/general-motors-falls-despite-beat-2026-10-20"
published_at: "2026-10-20T12:04:40.553Z"
updated_at: "2026-10-20T12:04:40.553Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# General Motors stock falls before the open despite a beat and a $20 billion buyback

The company narrowed its 2026 profit range instead of raising it, and the per-share midpoint came in below what analysts expected.

By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 20, 2026.

General Motors shares fell before the open on Tuesday, even after a quarterly profit beat and a new **$20 billion** share repurchase.

In premarket trading at 7:49 a.m. ET, the shares were indicated at $77.02, **6.9%** below Monday's close of $82.75. The company narrowed its 2026 profit forecast instead of raising it, and Reuters reported that the full-year earnings-per-share outlook came in short of what analysts expected.

## The 2026 forecast was narrowed, not raised

After lifting the forecast in April and again in July, GM narrowed 2026 earnings before interest and taxes, excluding one-time items, to $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion, from $14 billion to $16 billion. The midpoint is unchanged, at $15 billion.

The per-share range was narrowed to $12.75 to $13.75, from $12 to $14. The midpoint rose to $13.25 from $13. Reuters reported that the midpoint is still below the $13.41 a share analysts expected.

The forecast that went up was adjusted automotive free cash flow, GM's measure of cash from the auto business. GM now puts that at $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion, from $9.5 billion to $11.5 billion, a midpoint $1.5 billion higher. In the quarter, that figure was $5.9 billion.

GM said the path forward is more challenging. It still expects 2027 results to be better than this year's if consumer demand stays strong and commodity and logistics costs ease.

Commodity inflation, including logistics and computer chips, would be about $2 billion in 2026, GM said, the high end of its previous forecast for those costs. Gross tariff costs, it said, would land at the low end of the $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion range it had already set.

## Trucks led a quarter that beat

Earnings excluding one-time items were $3.70 a share, up from $2.80 a year earlier and above the $3.63 analysts expected, Reuters reported. Revenue was $50 billion, up from $48.6 billion, and above the $48.7 billion analysts expected. Operating profit on the same basis was $4.1 billion, up from $3.4 billion.

Profit attributable to shareholders was $3.3 billion, up from $1.3 billion a year earlier. A charge to realign electric-vehicle capacity was $238 million, down from $1.6 billion in the year-ago quarter.

North America accounted for $3.6 billion of the $4.1 billion, and the region's margin rose to 8.7% from 6.2%. Reuters reported that a higher mix of large pickups, and fewer electric vehicles, helped profit, even as sales slipped slightly.

## The case for a $20 billion buyback

"We think this is a proven strategy," Chair and Chief Executive Mary Barra wrote to shareholders. "The new $20 billion multiyear share repurchase authorization we announced today further demonstrates our board's commitment to creating even greater shareholder value."

The Wall Street Journal reported that GM executives believe the stock is fundamentally undervalued, even as auto sales cool. Through Monday's close, the shares were up 1.8% in 2026, against a 12.3% gain for the S&P 500, and up 44% over the past year.

Chart: GM is **lagging** in 2026, up 44% over 12 months

The authorization has no expiration date, and GM said it may suspend or discontinue the buying. The $6 billion program announced in January is already finished, including $2.5 billion repurchased in the third quarter.

Common shares outstanding were 849 million on Sept. 30, down from 904 million at the end of 2025. Reuters reported that GM has repurchased about $29.5 billion of its stock since 2023. At Monday's close, the new authorization was more than a quarter of what those Sept. 30 shares were worth.

Barra and Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson are scheduled to take questions at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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