General Motors Company (NYSE: GM)

General Motors is the largest U.S. automaker, selling about 6 million vehicles annually under the Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick brands. Revenue exceeds $170 billion. GM has bet heavily on electric vehicles with its Ultium platform, though the EV transition has been bumpier than planned. The company's most profitable vehicles are full-size trucks and SUVs (Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, Suburban). GM also owns Cruise, an autonomous vehicle subsidiary that has faced significant setbacks.

Vehicle manufacturing and sales drive the core business, with GM Financial providing auto lending. North America generates the vast majority of profits — China, once a major profit center, has deteriorated significantly due to local competition. Trucks and SUVs carry margins of 10-15%, while smaller vehicles and EVs are lower-margin or loss-making. The company is targeting 1 million EVs annually by mid-decade.

William Durant founded GM in 1908 in Flint, Michigan, initially as a holding company for Buick. GM went bankrupt in 2009 during the financial crisis, was bailed out by the U.S. government, and emerged as a leaner company. Mary Barra became CEO in 2014 — the first woman to lead a major automaker. The Cruise autonomous vehicle program launched in 2016 but was paused in 2023 after a pedestrian dragging incident in San Francisco.