General Motors posted a record $50 billion quarter, with sales of high-profit models like the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra contributing to the strong results. The company’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were $4.1 billion for the third quarter, up from $3.4 billion in the same period last year.
The automaker’s Super Cruise revenue grew 60 percent, while OnStar revenue increased 40 percent. A burgeoning defense business also contributed to the company’s strong quarterly performance.
EV Strategy Evolves
GM expects its electric vehicle (EV) financial results to improve again in 2027, although costs are coming down at a slower rate than in 2026, according to Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson. The company sees better EV development and production efficiency as its next generation of EVs come online with a new platform and battery technology.
For now, GM is on track to cut its EV program losses by $1 billion to $1.5 billion for the full year, Jacobson said. President Mark Reuss told the 2026 Automotive News Congress that GM has “absorbed” more than $11 billion in EV-related charges over the past year.
This improvement in efficiency is expected to have a positive impact on the company’s EV financial results.
Market Shifts
The last couple of years of this decade will present another pivot for the EV market in the US, with Ford taking orders in early 2027 for its Fathom EV midsize pickup truck. GM is looking forward to the launch of eyes-off autonomous driving when its previously announced Level 3 Super Cruise launches in the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ, noted CEO Mary Barra.
GM counts itself as the second-largest seller of EVs in the US, with Tesla still in first place, but with sales plummeting more severely than the rest of the market. The entire EV segment has fallen to 5.8 percent market share in the US, from 7.4 percent in Q3 last year and above 10 percent earlier in 2025.
Additionally, GM is claiming an expanded lead in the luxury EV market, with Cadillac’s electrics up 1.3 percentage points through August versus the same period last year. This increase in market share is a positive sign for the company’s luxury EV offerings.
Hybrid-Electric Market
Barra was asked about investment in the hybrid-electric market, and she said GM has begun investing, but indicated lukewarm interest, at best. The hybrid segment is hot primarily for compact and mid-size cars and minivans, Barra said—segments GM has abandoned.
GM sales are down 11 percent for the first three quarters versus the same period, primarily the result of lower EV sales and discontinued models. Jacobson and Barra expect little improvement in fourth-quarter sales as GM retools pickup truck assembly plants for the new 2027 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Production of the new trucks will begin in the Silao assembly plant in Mexico this year and will be added to Ft. Wayne Assembly (Indiana) in the first quarter of 2027 and then to Orion (Michigan) in Q2. All-new heavy-duty Silverados and Sierras are next, Barra said, ahead of their full-size Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, GMC Yukon/XL, and Cadillac Escalade siblings.
