General Motors shares tumbled Tuesday after the automaker posted a third-quarter beat on both revenue and earnings but narrowed its full-year profit guidance to a range that missed analyst expectations. The stock fell 6.84% to $77.09 from $82.75, extending a decline that has now pulled shares down 8.23% over the last five trading days and 10.14% over the last 30.
GM reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.70, beating the $3.63 analyst consensus and marking a 32.14% increase from the $2.80 posted a year earlier, while sales came in at $50.015 billion versus a $48.697 billion estimate. Operating profit reached $4.1 billion, a 22% rise in adjusted operating earnings. Despite those headline wins, the company narrowed its full-year adjusted EPS guidance from $12.00-$14.00 to $12.75-$13.75, below the $13.41 Wall Street was looking for, and tightened its GAAP EPS range from $8.98-$10.98 to $9.72-$10.72 against a $10.27 estimate. Its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes range also moved to $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion, compared with the wider $14 billion to $16 billion range it had projected in July.
The board approved a new $20 billion share buyback authorization with no expiration date, and GM raised its full-year adjusted automotive free cash flow guidance to $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion. CFO Paul Jacobson tied the repurchase plan directly to the company's cash generation, while CEO Mary Barra flagged what she described as intensifying challenges facing the business even as she touted the cash flow strength. Coverage of the session pointed to rising commodity costs, tied in part to the US-Iran war, as a headwind weighing on the outlook alongside the narrower guidance band itself.
GM's own commentary framed 2027 as a year management expects to outperform 2026, contingent on customer demand holding up and commodity, logistics and other cost pressures easing. Former Tesla president Jon McNeill said GM needs to move quickly to address issues in its hybrid vehicle lineup, a theme that surfaced alongside the earnings discussion. With shares now sitting well off their 52-week high of $91.85 and above their 52-week low of $56.81, the coming weeks should show whether the narrowed guidance reflects genuine cost pressure or a more conservative management stance after six straight quarters of beats.