General Motors Q3 2026 earnings: profit more than doubles, outlook narrowed
GM's profit jumped from a weak year-ago quarter as revenue grew modestly; the company narrowed its 2026 outlook and added a $20 billion stock buyback.
| Q3 2026 | Reported | Expected | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | $3.70 | $3.74 | -1.0% |
| Revenue | $50.02B | $50.16B | -0.3% |
Key takeaways
- Revenue rose to about $50.0 billion from $48.6 billion a year earlier, while adjusted earnings per share of $3.70 came in just a touch below Wall Street’s forecast — essentially an in-line quarter on the headline numbers.
- Net income available to shareholders jumped to roughly $3.3 billion from $1.3 billion in the same quarter last year, mainly because this quarter didn’t carry the large one-time charges tied to GM’s EV strategy shifts and tariff costs that weighed on results a year ago.
- Core profitability improved too: adjusted operating profit climbed about 22% to roughly $4.1 billion. The trailing-twelve-month margins (operating margin near 0.5%, net margin around 1%) still look thin, but that reflects the large special charges taken over the past year rather than this quarter’s actual performance.
- GM narrowed its full-year 2026 guidance, now pointing to adjusted operating profit of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion and full-year net income of $8.9 billion to $9.5 billion, a sign management feels more confident locking in a tighter range as the year winds down.
- The board approved a new $20 billion share buyback program and kept paying its quarterly dividend, signaling GM feels it can keep returning cash to shareholders even while absorbing tariff costs and investing in its EV lineup.
- Despite the stronger profit, coverage of the report noted GM sold fewer vehicles in the U.S. during the quarter and shares reacted negatively — a reminder that investors are also watching underlying sales volume, not just the bottom-line profit figure.
Q3 2026 in context
| Metric | Sep 2026 | Sep 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $50.0B | $48.6B | +2.9% |
| Net income | $3.3B | $1.3B | +151.3% |
| Free cash flow | $5.0B | $5.0B | -0.1% |
| Diluted EPS | $3.73 | $1.35 | +176.3% |
| Operating margin | 7.2% | 2.2% | +5.0 pts |
| Net margin | 6.7% | 2.7% | +3.9 pts |
Figures for the quarter ended Sep 2026 and the quarter ended Sep 2025, as reported to the SEC.
Each company's quarter ending in calendar Q3 '26, as reported to the SEC. A peer that reported no revenue figure for that quarter is left out.
How the stock took it
General Motors Co closed at $82.75 on Oct 19, 2026, the last session before the report, and at $76.11 on Oct 21, 2026, the first session after it — -8.0% across the report.
Closes from the market's daily record. Each figure spans the report date — from the last session that closed before it to the first that closed after — because a company may report before the open or after the close.
Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 5.6% | Trailing 12 months |
| Operating margin | 0.6% | Trailing 12 months |
| Net profit margin | 1.1% | Trailing 12 months |
| Pretax margin | 1.1% | Trailing 12 months |
| EPS | $2.07 | Trailing 12 months |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | -1.1% | Trailing 12 months |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -55.1% | Trailing 12 months |
| Return on equity | 3.1% | Trailing 12 months |
Sources: company report · news coverage