GM rewards shareholders following fourth-quarter results | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

General Motors closed out 2025 with a spring in its step.

The company crossed the finish line with 2.85 million vehicles sold last year, a 5.5% year-over-year increase led by the company’s pickup trucks.

U.S. 2025 new-vehicle sales forecast

GM: 2.83 million vehicles (+5.1% year over year); 17.3% market share
Toyota: 2.52 million vehicles (+8.4% YoY); 15.5% market share
Ford: 2.18 million vehicles (+5.6% YoY); 13.4% market share
Hyundai: 1.84 million vehicles (+7.9% YoY); 11.3% market share
Honda: 1.42 million vehicles (+0.6% YoY); 8.8% market share Source: Cox Automotive

The Chevy Silverado lineup sold 588,709, a 5.1% jump, while the GMC Sierra lineup sold another 356,000, a nearly 10% increase.

The company’s 17% U.S. market share was its highest since 2015 and the fourth consecutive year of year-over-year growth.

But while GM sold a record number of EVs, the shift in government regulation and guidance on the vehicles cost the company a lot of money in the fourth quarter.

GM says its shift away from electric vehicles cost the company $7.2 billion in special charges over the previous three months, as “a realignment of electric vehicle capacity and investments to adjust to expected declines in consumer demand for EVs” forces it to pivot.

GM had expected to report net income between $7.7 billion and $8.3 billion this year; however, thanks to the EV charges, it reported full-year net income of $2.7 billion.

GM shares were up more than 5.5% in early market trading shortly after the opening bell Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Despite the added costs, GM also announced a late Christmas present for shareholders.

GM’s shift away from EVs cost it billions in the fourth quarter.

Photo by Bloomberg on Getty Images

GM to buy back $6 billion in shares in 2026; raises dividend

GM views the EV adjustment as a one-time “special charge,” so the sudden loss of more than $7 billion from its bottom line hasn’t dampened its outlook for the future.

To reassure shareholders, GM is giving them what they love the most: share buybacks and increased dividends.

U.S. electric vehicle sales by year and market share of new vehicle sales

2025 (through September): More than 1 million units, 10.5% market share
2024: 1.3 million, 8.1% market share
2023: 1.2 million, 7.8% market share
2022: 800k, 5.8% market share Source: Cox Automotive

On Jan. 27, GM announced that its board of directors approved a new $6 billion share repurchase program, as well as a 3-cent-per-share increase in its quarterly stock dividend to 18 cents per share. The new rate is payable March 19 to shareholders of record on March 6.

The company says it wants to reward shareholders because its overall strategy is working.

“For several years now, GM’s strong brands and winning vehicles, as well as our technology-driven services and operating discipline, have delivered consistently strong cash generation,” said CEO Mary Barra.

“This has allowed us to execute all phases of our capital allocation strategy, from investing in the business and our people to maintaining a strong balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders. We believe that formula is sustainable, which is why we’re increasing our dividend and planning future share repurchases.”

BNP Paribas analysts see strong 2026 for GM

Ahead of GM’s earnings release on Jan. 27, analysts at BNP Paribas released a note suggesting 2026 will be a strong year for the company. “We see continued outperformance levers in 2026 amid its more consistent execution, market share, and free cash flow vs Ford, notably unlocking stronger shareholder returns.”

GM investors have “favorably low inventories,” and lower tariffs from Korea to look forward to next year, according to the firm, which raised GM’s price target to $95 from $83 per share.

Nearly half of the vehicles GM sold in the U.S. in 2024 were imported, about 1.23 million, according to CNBC. GM imported more vehicles than Toyota, with many vehicles coming from Korea.

Earlier this month, in an 8-K filing, GM detailed the $6 billion charge it incurred in the fourth quarter due to its electric vehicle division.

Approximately $1.8 billion of that amount is comprised of non-cash charges for supplier commercial settlements and contract cancellation fees.

The rest is comprised of cash charges of $4.2 billion, as it looks to wind down production in response to waning U.S. demand for electric vehicles.