Is General Motors Stock Stronger Than It Looks

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General Motors (GM) has repurchased its own shares at a rapid pace, and that may be what GM bulls are betting on. You probably view the automaker as a bet on car sales, and its vehicle sales fell 5.5% in the third quarter of 2026. Over the three months to October 23, GM stock declined 12.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.1%. Yet the company continues to buy back its own stock. So how much of itself has GM already bought back?

GM Has Retired Over A Third Of Its Shares

Between the third quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2026, GM's diluted share count fell 35.6%. That means each remaining share now holds a larger slice of the company than it did three years ago.

The pace of those purchases has slowed, however. GM spent $12.4 billion on buybacks in the twelve months to September 2024, followed by $10.2 billion in the twelve months to September 2025. In the twelve months to September 2026, the automaker spent $3.3 billion, an amount that still equals 5.0% of its market value.

On October 20, 2026, GM said its board approved a new $20 billion share repurchase authorization. If the company spends the entire amount, it would buy back stock worth about 30% of GM's $66.2 billion market value. News reports from the same day said GM executives believe the stock is fundamentally undervalued.

Is GM's Profit Holding Up As Car Sales Fall?

In the latest quarter, profit did hold up. News reports on October 1 said discontinued models and a smaller market for electric vehicles weighed on GM's third-quarter vehicle sales. Even so, the automaker's net income rose to $3.34 billion in the third quarter of 2026, from $1.33 billion in the third quarter of 2025.

The margin rose too. GM posted a GAAP operating margin of 7.2% in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 2.2% in the third quarter of 2025. With fewer shares outstanding, each share you own has a claim on more of that profit.

The twelve-month picture is weaker. GM lost $3.31 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Over the twelve months to September 2026, the automaker's operating margin was 2.3%, against 4.3% a year earlier.

What Could Go Wrong For GM Shareholders?

While buybacks shrink the share count, they leave GM's debt where it is. GM's total reported debt, which includes borrowing at its GM Financial lending business, equals 194.5% of its market value, against 19.4% for the S&P 500.

GM stock also fell further than the broader market in four of the five recent market shocks. The deepest occurred during the 2022 inflation shock and Fed tightening, when GM lost 50% while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF lost 24%.

If GM spends less on buybacks, the share count will shrink more slowly. And if profit slips back toward the loss of late 2025, each remaining share will hold a larger slice of a smaller profit.

So far, GM continues to retire shares, and its profit rose in the latest quarter after that loss. Its buyback spend has fallen for two years running, making the buyback spend and diluted share count GM reports for the fourth quarter of 2026, which ends December 31, the numbers to watch.

Does This Mean You Should Act On GM?

Our purpose is to inform you with unique data so you make the right investment decisions. That said, betting on a single stock is always risky, no matter which direction you choose.

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