GM Tops Q3 2026 Estimates, Narrows Full-Year EBIT Guidance and Approves $20 Billion Buyback

General Motors reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.70 per share and revenue of $50.02 billion, both ahead of Wall Street expectations, while narrowing its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to a range of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion and authorizing a new $20 billion share buyback, according to the company's earnings release carried by PR Newswire and reported by CNBC.

Earnings Beat, But Cost Pressures Weigh on Guidance

GM's adjusted earnings per share of $3.70 topped the $3.63 average estimate compiled by LSEG, while revenue of $50.02 billion exceeded the $48.7 billion analysts had forecast, CNBC reported. Based on those reported figures, adjusted EPS came in about 1.9% above consensus ((3.70 − 3.63) / 3.63 × 100) and revenue about 2.7% above expectations ((50.02 − 48.70) / 48.70 × 100). The company also reported net income attributable to stockholders of $3.3 billion and EBIT-adjusted of $4.1 billion for the quarter, according to the earnings release.

Despite the beat, GM narrowed its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to a range of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion. The company said it now expects commodity inflation costs of around $2 billion, the high end of its previous guidance, including higher logistics costs and higher prices for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips that are affecting multiple industries, CNBC reported. Warranty costs are also expected to land at the high end of GM's $1 billion to $1.5 billion range, the outlet said.

Offsetting some of that pressure, GM said gross tariff costs are now expected to come in at the low end of its $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion range, according to CNBC's reporting on the company's disclosures.

North America Strength Contrasts With International Decline

GM North America EBIT-adjusted rose to $3.592 billion in the quarter from $2.506 billion a year earlier, according to the company's segment disclosures. Based on those two reported figures, that is an increase of $1.086 billion, or about 43.3% ((3,592 − 2,506) / 2,506 × 100, in millions).

GM International told a different story. Adjusted EBIT in that segment fell 87.7% to $28 million from $226 million a year earlier, the company reported. China equity income dropped to $32 million from $80 million, a decline of about 60.3%, while GM Financial's EBT-adjusted fell 16.9% to $668 million from $804 million, according to the release.

EV Pullback Costs 'Substantially Completed'

GM said the costs tied to its previously announced pullback in all-electric vehicles were "substantially completed," reporting $11.2 billion in such charges since the second half of last year, including $4.6 billion of a planned $7.4 billion in cash paid through the third quarter, CNBC reported.

New $20 Billion Buyback, Dividend Declared

GM said its board approved a new $20.0 billion multi-year share repurchase authorization after the company completed the $6.0 billion buyback announced in January 2026, according to the earnings release. CNBC reported that GM did not provide a specific timeframe for completing the new program. The company had 849 million shares outstanding as of Sept. 30, 2026, down from 904 million at the end of 2025, and the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per share payable Dec. 17, 2026, the release said.

CEO Mary Barra, in a letter to shareholders, said: "GM is performing well, and we are working hard to continue our momentum despite growing inflationary pressures through strategic investments in new products and services, and through improved quality and operating efficiency," according to CNBC. Barra and Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson hosted a conference call for the investment community at 8:30 a.m. ET on Oct. 20 to discuss the results, the company said.

GM stock was off roughly 5% in premarket trading despite the earnings beats, CNBC reported, adding that Wall Street analysts were mixed before the report on whether GM would raise its guidance amid concerns about slowing sales and rising commodity costs.

Bottom Line

GM delivered a top- and bottom-line beat against LSEG consensus and authorized a buyback more than three times the size of the $6.0 billion program it just completed, while flagging commodity inflation of about $2 billion and warranty costs at the high end of guidance. Interpretation: the roughly 5% premarket decline reported by CNBC, set against those cost disclosures and the narrowed full-year adjusted EBIT range, suggests investors weighed the cost outlook alongside the quarter's beat rather than the beat alone; this is an interpretation of the reported figures and share move, not a company statement or a forecast.