General Motors has reported a significant decline in net income for the third quarter of 2025, with figures dropping by 57% to $1.32bn from the $3.05bn recorded in the previous year.
The automotive giant also experienced a slight dip in revenue, down to $48.59bn from $48.76bn year-on-year.
The company's adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter came in at $2.80, a slight decrease from the $2.96 reported in the third quarter of 2024.
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) also saw a downturn, falling 18% to $3.37bn from the $4.11bn achieved a year earlier.
The third quarter of 2025 saw GM's net income margin shrink to 2.7% from 6.3% seen in the same quarter the previous year.
Automotive operating cash flow followed this downward trend, with a 22.8% decrease to $6.07bn from the $7.86bn recorded in the year-ago period.
Despite these challenges, GM has revised its full-year guidance upwards, with a new adjusted EBIT forecast of between $12bn and $13bn, and an adjusted EPS of $9.75 to $10.50. This is an increase from the previous estimates of $10bn to $12.5bn for adjusted EBIT, and $8.25 to $10 for adjusted EPS.
The company also anticipates an adjusted automotive free cash flow of $10bn to $11bn, up from the earlier projection of $7.5bn to $10bn.
In a letter to shareholders, GM chair and CEO Mary Barra said: “Thanks to the collective efforts of our team, and our compelling vehicle portfolio, GM delivered another very good quarter of earnings and free cash flow.
“Based on our performance, we are raising our full-year guidance, underscoring our confidence in the company’s trajectory.”
In North America, GM's traditionally strong market, the company earned over $2.5bn on an adjusted basis, although the adjusted profit margin decreased from 9.7% to 6.2%.
Barra said the automaker’s “top priority” is to return to 8% to 10% adjusted profit margins in North America through “driving EV profitability, maintaining production and pricing discipline, managing fixed costs, and further reducing tariff exposure.”
“Over the past several years, our portfolio and capacity plans have been shaped by steadily increasing regulatory stringency for fuel economy and emissions. To meet these requirements, we aggressively expanded our electric vehicle capacity.
“However, with the evolving regulatory framework and the end of federal consumer incentives, it is now clear that near-term EV adoption will be lower than planned. That is why we are reassessing our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint. The work, which is ongoing, resulted in a special charge in the third quarter, and we expect future charges. By acting swiftly and decisively to address overcapacity, we expect to reduce EV losses in 2026 and beyond,” Barra added.
Offsetting the lower earnings in North America were gains in GM's operations in China, which rose by $217m, and in international markets, with an increase of $184m compared to the previous year.
