If you look at a long-term chart for General Motors, there’s a massive, gaping hole in 2009. Most stocks have dips. GM has a literal rebirth.
To really understand the general motors corporation stock price history, you have to stop thinking of it as one continuous line since 1908. It isn't. The "Old GM" basically evaporated in a bankruptcy court, and the "New GM" we trade today—ticker symbol GM—started its life with a fresh IPO in late 2010.
Honestly, it’s one of the most misunderstood trajectories in the S&P 500. You've got investors who still think they lost money in the Great Recession, while a new generation sees a company that has, quite frankly, become a cash-flow machine in a way the old version never was.
The Rebirth: 2010 and the "Government Motors" Era
When GM returned to the New York Stock Exchange in November 2010, the vibe was... complicated.
The IPO priced at $33 a share. At the time, it was one of the largest IPOs in history, raising about $20 billion. But it carried the heavy weight of a $50 billion taxpayer bailout. People called it "Government Motors" because the U.S. Treasury owned 61% of the company at the start.
Between 2010 and 2013, the stock kinda just hovered. It was a tug-of-war. On one side, you had the Treasury selling off its shares (which usually puts downward pressure on price). On the other, you had a lean, post-bankruptcy business that was actually making a profit. By the time the government fully exited in December 2013, the stock was trading around $40.
The Mary Barra Pivot and the Range-Bound Years
Mary Barra took the wheel as CEO in early 2014. If you look at the general motors corporation stock price history from 2014 to late 2020, you’ll notice something frustrating.
The stock was stuck.
It spent years bouncing between $30 and $45. Investors were bored. Even though the company was printing money through Silverado and Sierra sales, the market just didn't want to give a high valuation to a "legacy" carmaker. Everyone was obsessed with Tesla. GM was seen as the dinosaur.
Then came 2020.
The pandemic tanked the stock to under $18 in March 2020. But the recovery was violent. Why? Because GM finally stopped talking about "someday" and started showing off the Ultium battery platform. By early 2021, the stock hit all-time highs (at the time) near $64. The narrative shifted from "dinosaur" to "EV contender."
The 2024-2025 Surge: A Lesson in Realism
Fast forward to where we are now. The last 24 months have been wild for GM shareholders.
In late 2024 and throughout 2025, we saw a massive "capitulation" on EV goals. GM realized—along with Ford and Stellantis—that the world wasn't ready to go 100% electric by Tuesday. They "right-sized" their plans.
They took some massive hits to do it. In Q4 of 2025, the company recorded about $6 billion in special charges specifically related to rolling back EV capacity and supplier settlements. Another $1.1 billion went toward restructuring their China joint venture.
You'd think the stock would crash, right?
Nope. The market loved it.
Investors rewarded the honesty. By focusing on profitable gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs while scaling EVs to actual demand, GM’s stock price has surged. As of mid-January 2026, the stock is trading in the $80 to $85 range. That’s a gain of nearly 60% over the last year. Basically, the "boring" parts of the business are now the heroes again.
Dividends and the "Cash King" Strategy
If you're looking at the general motors corporation stock price history for income, it's been a bumpy ride.
- Pre-2020: GM paid a steady $0.38 quarterly dividend.
- The Gap: They suspended it during the pandemic to hoard cash.
- The Return: They brought it back in 2022 at a tiny $0.09.
- Current Status: In 2025, they hiked it significantly. We saw quarterly payments go from $0.12 to $0.15.
The yield is still relatively low (around 0.72%), but that’s mostly because the stock price has run up so fast. The real story isn't the dividend; it's the buybacks. GM has been cannibalizing its own shares, which is part of why the earnings per share (EPS) looks so good even when total revenue is "flattish."
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that GM is still the same fragile company it was in 2008.
The old GM needed to sell roughly 12 million vehicles a year just to break even. The new GM? Their breakeven point in North America is closer to 10 million units. They can survive a recession now.
Also, people think the "China problem" is a death knell. While it's true that domestic brands in China are eating GM’s lunch, the 2025 restructuring (the $1.1 billion charge mentioned earlier) shows the company is finally willing to cut its losses rather than throw good money after bad.
Actionable Insights for Investors
Looking at the general motors corporation stock price history gives us a roadmap for the rest of 2026. Here is how you should actually use this data:
- Watch the $85 Level: This has acted as a recent ceiling. A breakout above this with volume suggests the market is pricing in a "soft landing" for the economy.
- Monitor Warranty Costs: This is the "hidden" risk. In 2025, GM took a $1.1 billion hit just from recalls and warranty claims. If this number doesn't go down in 2026, it will eat the margins that the truck sales are creating.
- EV Profitability: CFO Paul Jacobson has hinted that EV demand might stabilize by mid-2026. Keep an eye on the "variable profit" on their EVs. Once they stop losing money on every Bolt or Lyriq sold, the stock could see another leg up.
- Valuation Reality Check: Even at $80+, GM trades at a P/E ratio of around 8. Compare that to the broader market, and it still looks "cheap," but it’s always been cheap. Don't expect a Tesla-like 50x multiple.
The history of GM's stock is a story of a company that learned how to be a business instead of just a manufacturer. It’s no longer about how many cars they can build; it’s about how much cash they can keep.
Next Steps for Your Research:
- Download the Q4 2025 Earnings Transcript: Look specifically for "adjusted auto free cash flow" figures.
- Compare Relative Strength: Plot GM against the S&P 500 (SPY) over the last 6 months to see if it's still outperforming the benchmark.
- Check Institutional Ownership: See if major funds increased their positions following the $6 billion EV write-down in early 2026; this usually signals "smart money" approval of the pivot.