Two years ago, this kind of thing would have seemed nearly impossible, but it’s happening in Detroit. Once written off as a sluggish relic in a market fixated on Tesla, General Motors’ stock has increased by 77% in the last 12 months. With a three-year gain of almost 148%, it closed Tuesday at $79, not far from its 52-week high. That kind of run doesn’t occur without a backstory for a company that investors described as “the yesterday of the auto industry” for ten years. As it happens, the plot takes a turn that hardly anyone anticipated.
In order to refocus resources on gasoline engines and hybrids, GM has quietly halted its next-generation electric truck program at Factory Zero in Detroit. For a company that spent years positioning itself as the American legacy automaker most committed to electric vehicles, that represents a significant change.
The symbolism of shiny GMC Hummer EVs rolling off the line while the team behind them is being redeployed is awkward when you stroll around the Factory Zero campus today. Although management isn’t formally giving up on electrification, there is a clear signal to the market. GM is responding to consumer demand, and full-size trucks with V-8 engines are currently in high demand. In addition to the $500 million investment already made in Flint Engine, the company announced on Wednesday that it would invest over $150 million in its Saginaw Metal Casting facility to construct the sixth-generation V-8.
As usual, Wall Street has been debating whether to celebrate or become alarmed. GM’s intrinsic value is estimated by Simply Wall St’s DCF model to be close to $119, suggesting that the stock is trading at a 34% discount. The company-specific fair ratio of 26.2 is higher than the P/E of 22.4. The analyst consensus 12-month target is $94.27, which is about 20% higher than the current share price. Nevertheless, the bear case is hardly noticeable. In Q4 2025, revenue decreased 5% from the previous year. China is still a mess. Threats from tariffs are still present. Furthermore, GM might find itself several years behind once more if the EV retreat proves to be an incorrect assessment of the market’s true direction.
Right now, Mary Barra’s fingerprints are all over the place. She approved a $40 million hiring package for Sterling Anderson, a former employee of Tesla and Aurora who is currently GM’s chief product officer. The deal was so big that it caused controversy on both coasts. Her own salary set a record in 2025. As this develops, it appears that Barra is attempting to accomplish something truly uncommon in Detroit: rebuilding the product engine while the conventional engine is still cooling. It’s the kind of balancing act that almost always turns into a cautionary tale or a case study.
GM’s current situation is intriguing because of how it differs from Ford. With each quarterly call, Ford continues to express uncertainty, write off billions on its Model E division, and remain down close to $12. In contrast, GM appears to be almost disciplined, making cuts where losses occur, investing where cash flows, and compensating Tesla-caliber employees with Tesla-caliber funds. While the outdated fifth-generation V-8 continues to operate, GM’s oldest plant in Saginaw will receive a new generation of machinery. Right now, the small, overlapping change—the new and the old sharing a floor—is practically a metaphor for the business.
Investors appear to think Barra will firmly embrace the truck-and-hybrid pivot when Q1 earnings are released on April 28. It’s still genuinely unclear if that will be the best book to read in the upcoming ten years. For the time being, however, General Motors has accomplished something it hasn’t done in years. In America, it’s now the more fascinating car story.
