GM Stock Outraces Tesla and Ford

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM | GM Price Prediction) stock is up 56% this year. The S&P 500 is 16% higher. A more important comparison is that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock is up 13%, and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) by 34%. There is another important measure among the three. Ford’s market cap is $53 billion, while GM’s is $79 billion and Tesla’s is $1.53 trillion.

GM has walked the thin line between the strategies of its two competitors. Tesla’s sales have been troubled in China, the United States, and Europe. Tesla’s U.S. sales dropped near a four-year low in November. Nevertheless, with some modest success, as CEO Elon Musk has begun to present Tesla as an artificial intelligence and robotics company.

Its collapsed electric vehicle (EV) sales were the reason Ford took a $19.5 billion write-off. It had stayed at the EV party far too long.

GM has not invested what Ford did in EVs. Additionally, its overall sales have risen this year. It did take a $1.6 billion write-off for its EV operations. At the time, GM said “Following recent U.S. government policy changes, including the termination of certain consumer tax incentives for EV purchases and the reduction in the stringency of emissions regulations, we expect the adoption rate of EVs to slow.” It continues to have modest success with some of its EV fleet, but not enough to materially change its financial situation.

One of GM’s strategies is to admit tacitly that it is a gasoline-powered car company. And, U.S. combustion-engine car sales will do well for years, if not longer. EV adoption has slowed, and there is no reason to believe that will soon change.

GM has also shown what investors find most important. CNBC reports, “Wall Street analysts overall have cited GM’s cash generation, earnings resilience and track record in delivering shareholder returns, including stock buybacks, as reasons for their optimism.”

CEO Mary Barra has held her job since 2014, so she is the architect of what has made GM so successful. She doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, so the successful course GM has taken is unlikely to change.

General Motors Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2025–2030