General Motors Co GM

General Motors proactively managed its EV strategy in response to slowing demand and policy changes, including the termination of consumer tax incentives. This involved selling its share in the Ultium Cells Lansing plant and pivoting Orion Assembly from EV to ICE production. The company also discontinued production of the BrightDrop electric van, leading to aggregate Q3 and Q4 charges of $7.6 billion, with $4.6 billion expected to be settled in cash. These actions aim to reduce fixed costs and align capacity with current market realities, while preserving future EV capacity for LMR and LFP battery transitions.

GM achieved its highest full-year U.S. market share in a decade in 2025, marking its fourth consecutive year of growth, driven by low inventory, low incentives, and strong pricing. The company led the industry in full-size pickups and SUVs and had its best-ever year in crossovers, including the redesigned Chevrolet Equinox and Traverse, and successful smaller models like the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Envista. Management emphasized a strong ICE portfolio and a dedicated EV platform, with plans to introduce hybrids in key segments and leverage a modern electrical architecture across both ICE and EV platforms.

OnStar services and Super Cruise continue to demonstrate strong growth, with OnStar reaching a record 12 million subscribers and Super Cruise achieving nearly 80% year-over-year growth to 620,000 subscribers in 2025. OnStar Fleet subscriptions doubled to 2 million. The company expects deferred revenue from software and services to grow from $5.4 billion at the end of 2025 to approximately $7.5 billion by the end of 2026, driven by initial Super Cruise subscriptions and renewals, with attachment rates in the low 40% range. Global expansion for Super Cruise is planned for South Korea, the Middle East, and Europe.

GM's strong cash generation, with adjusted automotive free cash flow of $10.6 billion in 2025, has structurally improved its average annual free cash flow from $3 billion to $10 billion over the last five years. This enables significant capital investments, with $10 billion to $12 billion planned annually for 2026 and 2027, including $5 billion for U.S. manufacturing capacity. The company also returned $23 billion to shareholders since November 2023 through share repurchases, reducing outstanding shares by nearly 35%, and increased its quarterly dividend by 20% to $0.18 per share, alongside a new $6 billion repurchase authorization.

The China business has undergone a disciplined multi-year plan to rightsize capacity, accelerate electrification, and revitalize operations. This has resulted in significant milestones, including new energy vehicle sales reaching nearly 1 million units in 2025, representing over 50% of total sales, and achieving profitability across all price points. GM International, excluding China equity income, delivered $200 million in EBIT adjusted in Q4 FY25, driven by strong execution in South America and the Middle East, demonstrating improved performance despite competition from Chinese OEMs.

GM is leveraging AI, machine learning, and robotics to enhance safety, quality, and speed in its manufacturing plants, exemplified by a predictive weld quality model and robotic systems. Planned upgrades at Orion Assembly include advanced vision systems and 2,500 robots/cobots. The company expects to launch its breakthrough LMR battery chemistry in 2028, aiming to reduce cell and pack costs by several thousand dollars. Also in 2028, GM plans to launch its second-generation software-defined vehicle architecture for both ICE and EVs, offering 10x more OTA capacity and 1,000x more bandwidth, enabling eyes-off, hands-off driving technology on the Cadillac Escalade IQ.

GM Financial received approval for its industrial bank application, which will allow it to accept deposits and provide another source of stable and diversified funding. This is expected to lower the cost of funds over time^⏳ and enhance GM Financial's ability to offer more competitive auto loans to customers. The approval is seen as a significant achievement that will complement the existing funding platform and contribute to financial flexibility.