General Motors Company

What does it do?

General Motors is one of the biggest car companies in the world — they make vehicles you've definitely seen on the road, like the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, the Cadillac Escalade SUV, and the GMC Sierra. Think of them as a massive factory operation that designs, builds, and sells vehicles across North America, China, and other global markets. They also have a financial arm called GM Financial, which is basically a bank that gives out car loans and leases to people buying their vehicles. On top of cars, they sell spare parts and have been investing heavily in electric vehicles through their Ultium battery platform.

How does it make money?

GM makes the vast majority of its money selling physical vehicles — trucks and SUVs are the most profitable, with the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra being cash cows in the US market. In 2024, GM pulled in $185 billion in revenue, though net income — the actual profit left after all costs — was just $3.2 billion, which is a thin margin of under 2%. GM Financial adds another layer by earning interest income from financing car purchases, contributing billions in profit annually. They also earn from software subscriptions like OnStar and Super Cruise, though these are still small relative to vehicle sales.

Why do investors care?

The bull story for GM is that it's a deeply cheap stock — investors are paying roughly $71 billion for a company doing $185 billion in sales, which looks like a bargain if the EV transition doesn't destroy margins. GM has been aggressively buying back its own shares (returning cash to investors by reducing the number of shares in circulation), which can boost the stock price over time. The growth bet is that their Ultium EV platform — powering vehicles like the Chevy Equinox EV priced around $35,000 — finally achieves scale and profitability. What has to go right: EV losses must shrink, truck demand must stay strong, and their China business — which has been struggling — needs to stabilize.