GM reported third-quarter 2026 results on Tuesday, October 20, before the open. Revenue: $50.0 billion, up 2.9%, and EBIT-adjusted rose 21.6% to $4.11 billion. The board approved a new $20 billion share repurchase authorisation, and the company raised its full-year free cash flow guidance. And the stock closed down 6.84%, on volume three times the prior day's.
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What was reported
| Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (millions of dollars) | 50,015 | 48,591 | +2.9% |
| Net income to stockholders | 3,335 | 1,327 | see note |
| Net income margin | 6.7% | 2.7% | +4.0 pts |
| EBIT-adjusted | 4,106 | 3,376 | +21.6% |
| EBIT-adjusted margin | 8.2% | 6.9% | +1.3 pts |
| Diluted earnings per share (dollars) | 3.73 | 1.35 | see note |
| Adjusted earnings per share (dollars) | 3.70 | 2.80 | +32.2% |
| Automotive operating cash flow | 8,049 | 6,070 | +32.6% |
| Adjusted automotive free cash flow | 5,882 | 4,201 | +40.0% |
Source: GM's third-quarter 2026 press release, October 20, 2026, filed with the SEC on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1. "Adjusted" is a non-GAAP measure. On the net income and earnings per share lines the company marks the rate of change as n.m. - not meaningful - so it is not shown here as a percentage.
Three engines, two of them weakening
The segment breakdown is the central story of the report, and it is less uniform than the consolidated line suggests:
| Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America - EBIT-adjusted | 3,592 | 2,506 | +43.4% |
| North America margin | 8.7% | 6.2% | +2.5 pts |
| International - EBIT-adjusted | 28 | 226 | -87.7% |
| China equity income | 32 | 80 | -60.3% |
| GM Financial - EBT-adjusted | 668 | 804 | -16.9% |
In millions of dollars.
North America carries the entire quarter. Its operating profit rose by $1,086 million - more than the increase in the company's total EBIT-adjusted, $730 million. In other words, the other operations subtracted.
And the international business was nearly erased: $28 million against $226 million. China added to that a 60.3% fall in equity income, and GM Financial, the financing arm, fell 16.9%.
The buyback, and the share count
The board approved a new multi-year share repurchase authorisation of $20.0 billion, with no expiration date, after the company completed the $6.0 billion program announced in January 2026.
And here is a figure that shows the cumulative scale:
| Date | Shares outstanding |
|---|---|
| End of 2023 | 1.2 billion |
| End of 2024 | 995 million |
| End of 2025 | 904 million |
| September 30, 2026 | 849 million |
So the share count has fallen by about 29% in under three years. That explains part of the rise in adjusted earnings per share - 32.2% - against the rise in EBIT-adjusted, 21.6%.
A quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share was also declared, payable December 17, 2026.
Guidance, updated in two directions
| Updated guidance | Previous guidance | |
|---|---|---|
| EBIT-adjusted | $14.5 - $15.5 billion | $14.0 - $16.0 billion |
| Adjusted automotive free cash flow | $11.5 - $12.5 billion | $9.5 - $11.5 billion |
| Adjusted earnings per share | $12.75 - $13.75 | $12.00 - $14.00 |
Two things happened here. First, the free cash flow range was genuinely raised: the midpoint rose from $10.5 billion to $12.0 billion - an increase of about 14%. Second, the other two ranges were narrowed around the same midpoint: EBIT-adjusted stayed at a midpoint of $15.0 billion, and adjusted earnings per share at a midpoint of $13.25 - a small rise from $13.00.
The company also provides GAAP guidance: net income attributable to stockholders of $8.9 billion to $9.5 billion, automotive operating cash flow of $17.3 billion to $20.3 billion, and diluted earnings per share of $9.72 to $10.72 - based on the updated guidance and the adjustments recorded year to date.
The stock
The report was published before the open on Tuesday, so the trading reaction is that same day, October 20. The stock closed at $77.09, down 6.84% from the prior close of $82.75. It opened at $77.22 - meaning it gapped down at the open - rose as high as $78.97 and fell as low as $75.08.
Volume: 24.7 million shares, versus 8.0 million the day before - three times as much.
הזווית שלי
דעה אישית של אילן אברמוב - לא ייעוץ ולא המלצה
This is the report that refuses to add up. A company that raised its free cash flow guidance by about 14% at the midpoint, that approved a $20 billion buyback - a sum that is a substantial share of its market value - and that posted a 43.4% rise in operating profit in its largest market, fell 6.84% and gapped down at the open.
Where I do find a possible explanation inside the numbers:
First, the other two ranges were not raised, they were narrowed. EBIT-adjusted stayed at a midpoint of $15.0 billion - unchanged - and adjusted earnings per share rose by only $0.25 at the midpoint. Anyone expecting a broad raise got trimmed edges instead. A cash flow raise on its own can come from working capital and timing rather than from profitability.
Second, the quality mix. The entire rise in operating profit sits on North America - and more than all of it: the segment rose $1,086 million while the whole company rose $730 million. International, China and the financing arm all fell. Profit concentrated in one market is profit exposed to one market - to tariffs, to vehicle pricing and to demand there.
Third, earnings per share rose faster than earnings. 32.2% against 21.6%, and the gap is a share count down 29% in three years. A buyback is a legitimate return of capital, but it also flatters the bottom line without changing the business.
And what should be said in the opposite direction: adjusted free cash flow of $5.88 billion in the quarter, up 40.0%, is a real number and hard to argue with. If it repeats in the fourth quarter, the new range will prove conservative.
What I will follow: the international business, which came in at $28 million - a sum barely distinguishable from zero; and whether fourth-quarter cash flow confirms the raise.
(To be clear: this is my personal opinion only. Nothing here is a recommendation to take any action, and there is no forecast here of the price of any security.)
Ilan Abramov, the author, or anyone on his behalf may hold some of the securities or funds mentioned in this article.
