General Motors Launches $20 Billion Buyback Amid Lowered Guidance

General Motors authorized a $20 billion multi-year share repurchase program and increased its quarterly dividend by 20% to $0.18 per share on October 20, 2026. The buyback aims to retire approximately one-quarter of the company's outstanding shares against a market capitalization of $72.6 billion, a move management intended to signal that the stock is undervalued.

Despite these shareholder returns, the company's shares fell 7.2% in pre-market trading after General Motors tightened its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share guidance to a range of $12.75 to $13.75. The midpoint of $13.25 trails Wall Street estimates of $13.41. The company attributed the lowered expectations to approximately $2 billion in commodity inflation and input cost friction involving raw materials and logistics.

These developments follow a third-quarter report showing revenue grew 2.9% to $50.0 billion, with adjusted EBIT increasing 21.6% to $4.1 billion. Growth was driven primarily by strong North American domestic operations and consumer demand for pickup trucks. In tandem with the buyback, the company raised its full-year adjusted automotive free cash flow guidance to between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion. Shareholders of record as of December 4, 2026, will receive the increased dividend payment on December 17, 2026.