General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM)

Gross Profit Margin

The gross profit margin shows an overall positive performance trend starting from 10.25% in the first recorded quarter of 2020. It peaks around 12.32% in the third quarter of 2023, indicating improving efficiency or pricing power. However, there is a slight downward adjustment towards the end of the period, settling near 11.61% by the first quarter of 2025. This suggests a relative stabilization of gross profitability after a period of growth.

Operating Profit Margin

The operating profit margin follows a somewhat similar trajectory to the gross profit margin. It begins at 6.1% in early 2020, rises steadily to a peak of approximately 7.45% by the fourth quarter of 2024, and then modestly declines to 7.2% in the first quarter of 2025. This indicates that operating expenses are being managed effectively relative to revenues, although there is a slight contraction in margin towards the most recent quarter.

Net Profit Margin

Net profit margin demonstrates a generally upward trend from 5.91% to a high of around 6.8% in late 2024, reflecting improving bottom-line profitability. However, a significant decline is observed in the last two quarters, dropping sharply to approximately 3.5% and further to 3.37% by the first quarter of 2025. This may signal increased costs, non-operational expenses, or other factors adversely affecting net income.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE exhibits notable volatility, initially increasing from 14.27% to a peak of 24.67% in the third quarter of 2020, then decreasing to a lower band around 13-16% through 2021 to 2024. Towards the end of the period, ROE experiences a substantial decline to 9.53% and further to 9.03% by early 2025. The peak suggests periods of strong shareholder value creation, whereas the later decline indicates a reduction in profitability relative to equity, potentially influenced by changes in earnings or capital structure.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA rises steadily from a low base of 2.73% in early 2020 to a plateau near 3.9% through much of 2023 and 2024, highlighting improved asset efficiency over time. The ratio then falls significantly in the last two quarters, down to 2.15% and 2.06% respectively. This reflects a decrease in profitability generated from total assets, possibly due to lowered net income or increased asset base without commensurate earnings growth.

The financial data exhibits several notable trends and fluctuations across the reported periods. The automotive and other gross margin demonstrates significant volatility, with values ranging from a negative margin of 81 million US dollars in June 2020 to a peak of 5728 million US dollars in September 2024. This variation suggests periods of both financial strain and strong profitability, with a general trend of recovery and improvement following the sharp downturn in early 2020.

Automotive net sales and revenue also reflect a fluctuating pattern, starting at 29,150 million US dollars in March 2020 and hitting a low of 13,363 million in June 2020. Subsequently, sales recovered and generally increased over time, reaching highs above 44,000 million US dollars in the mid to late 2024 period before declining somewhat in March 2025. This indicates a recovery phase post-2020 with a strong revenue base, though some variability is apparent in recent periods.

The gross profit margin percentage, available from December 2020 onwards, illustrates steady improvement with slight oscillations. Beginning at 10.25% in December 2020, it rises gradually, reaching a peak of 12.32% in September 2023 before dipping slightly but remaining above 11% in most subsequent quarters. This trend reflects an overall enhancement in profitability relative to revenue, suggesting improved cost management or pricing power over time.

Automotive and Other Gross Margin

Displayed significant volatility with an initial sharp decline in mid-2020, followed by a strong upward trend through 2021 to late 2024.

Experienced a marked peak in late 2024, surpassing previous highs, but showed some decline entering 2025.

Automotive Net Sales and Revenue

Exhibited a substantial decrease in the first half of 2020, likely due to external disruptions, followed by recovery and growth through 2022 and 2023.

Revenue peaked around late 2024, showing resilience and overall increasing trends despite periodic fluctuations.

Sales showed a decline in the earliest quarter of 2025 compared to prior peaks, warranting attention to potential emerging challenges.

Gross Profit Margin

Gradually improved from late 2020 onward, moving from approximately 10.25% to above 12% in most recent quarters.

Though minor downward adjustments occurred, the margin remained relatively stable and improved compared to initial periods.

In summary, the entity faced significant financial challenges in early 2020 but showed a strong recovery trajectory across all key metrics. Increasing gross profit margins alongside rising revenue and gross margin figures indicate improved operational efficiency and cost control. Recent quarters suggest continued strength, though some moderation in growth and margin levels may require monitoring moving forward.

The data reveals several notable trends and fluctuations in operating income, net sales and revenue, and operating profit margin over the quarterly periods analyzed.

Operating Income (Loss)

Operating income exhibits considerable volatility across the quarters. Initially, a loss is evident in the quarter ending June 30, 2020 (-$1,214 million), following a positive income of $657 million in March 2020. Subsequently, there is a strong recovery with an operating income peak of $4,424 million by September 30, 2020. The income continues generally positive through 2021, although it declines towards the end of that year.

In 2022 and 2023, operating income remains largely positive, with multiple quarters exceeding $2,500 million; however, a sharp dip is observed in the quarter ending March 31, 2024, falling to $918 million, followed by a robust rebound in the subsequent quarters, reaching highs over $3,700 million. The final quarter in March 2025 shows a significant decrease to $1,522 million.

Automotive Net Sales and Revenue

Net sales and revenue depict a growth trend over the course of the periods. Beginning with $29,150 million in March 2020, the values drop substantially in the second quarter of 2020 to $13,363 million, reflecting possible external factors impacting sales.

From September 2020 onward, there is a general upward trajectory with fluctuations. Revenue exceeds $30,000 million from late 2020 and remains above $32,000 million in most quarters. The highest figures appear during late 2022 and throughout 2023, with values peaking above $41,000 million in some quarters.

Notably, although sales increase overall, quarters in 2024 show some variation, with a slight decline in the last quarter analyzed (March 2025) to $39,861 million.

Operating Profit Margin

The operating profit margin presents a steady improvement pattern from the available periods starting in the second half of 2020. Margins rise from 6.1% in September 2020 to double-digit figures around 10.6% in September 2021.

Post-2021, margins stabilize primarily between approximately 6% and 8%, demonstrating moderate consistency despite fluctuations in income and revenue. Margins remain generally above 6%, with minor dips but no significant downward trend.

Overall, the data suggests the company experienced initial turbulence in early 2020, with recovery and growth phases apparent in revenue and profitability through 2021 to 2023. While operating income shows variability, net sales display resilient growth with some fluctuations. The operating profit margin stabilizes at a healthy level in the latter periods analyzed, indicating operational efficiency despite income volatility.

The financial data reveals several notable trends over the examined periods.

Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Stockholders (US$ in millions)

The net income exhibits considerable volatility across the quarters. Initially fluctuating with a negative value of -758 million in mid-2020, it quickly recovered to positive figures, peaking at 4045 million in late 2020. This positive trend generally continued through 2021 and 2022, with some quarterly variations. However, a significant decline is observed at the end of 2024 with a sharp loss of -2961 million, indicating a possible extraordinary expense or loss event. Following this dip, net income rebounds again to positive levels by early 2025.

Automotive Net Sales and Revenue (US$ in millions)

Sales and revenue consistently show a strong upward trajectory overall from 2020 through the majority of 2024. Early 2020 saw a sharp decline likely due to external factors impacting the market, but from mid-2020 onwards, revenue gradually increased, reaching a peak in late 2024 at over 44 billion US dollars. The most notable growth periods align with the years 2021 through 2024, where quarterly revenues hovered largely above 39 billion. A slight decline begins at the very end of the dataset in early 2025.

Net Profit Margin (%)

The net profit margin, starting with several missing values, becomes available in late 2020 and displays a stable range between approximately 6.3% and 10.1%, indicating consistent profitability relative to sales during this period. The peak margin occurs in the third quarter of 2021. Although margins taper slightly after 2022, they remain steady in the range of around 6.3% to 6.8% through most of 2023 and 2024. The margin dips noticeably in early 2025, paralleling the net income loss during the same period, suggesting a downturn in profitability.

In summary, the data reflects a period of recovery and growth following a challenging start in 2020. Both revenue and net income generally rose consistently through 2021 to 2024, supported by stable profit margins. Nevertheless, the abrupt loss in late 2024 and early 2025 along with corresponding margin contraction could signify an emerging risk or a one-time financial event adversely affecting performance. Continued monitoring of subsequent quarters would be necessary to assess ongoing stability and profitability.

Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Stockholders

The net income displays considerable volatility over the observed periods. Initially, it started with a modest positive figure, followed by a sharp loss in the second quarter of 2020. Subsequently, the net income rebounded significantly in the third quarter of 2020 and remained mostly positive through the subsequent quarters. Notable peaks occur in the quarters ended September 2020, March 2021, and September 2022, with fluctuations continuing thereafter. However, a substantial loss reappears in the quarter ended December 2024, interrupting the otherwise positive trend observed in recent years. The latest reported quarter (March 2025) shows a return to positive net income.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity shows a consistent upward trend for most of the periods analyzed, starting from approximately $40.1 billion and rising steadily to peak around $74.5 billion in the quarter ended September 2023. After this peak, a decline is observed, bringing equity down to around $64.4 billion by March 2025. Despite this decline towards the end of the period, the overall trajectory from 2020 to 2023 is one of growth, indicating an accumulation of equity value over time before the recent contraction.

Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on equity was not reported for the earliest quarters but appeared from December 2020 onward. ROE generally fluctuates between approximately 13% and 25%, with the highest values recorded between late 2020 and late 2021. A mild decline in ROE is evident from mid-2022 through to early 2025, where it reaches single digits near the end of the period. Despite some declines, ROE remained in the low to mid-teens for the majority of the timeframe, reflecting consistent profitability relative to equity during those periods.

Overall Insights

The data reflects a company that experienced significant earnings volatility, especially in early 2020, but managed to maintain a generally positive net income in subsequent quarters. Equity growth was robust through most of the analyzed timeframe but showed signs of erosion starting in late 2023. ROE followed a similar pattern, with strong returns initially but gradual decline approaching 2025, potentially linked to the decrease in equity and the net income fluctuations observed in late 2024. The significant loss in net income in the quarter ended December 2024 highlights a risk factor that may require additional investigation.

The net income attributable to stockholders demonstrates considerable volatility across the observed periods. After recording a loss in the second quarter of 2020, net income rebounded sharply in the subsequent quarters of 2020 and remained positive through most of 2021 and 2022 with fluctuations in magnitude. Notably, a substantial decline occurs in the first quarter of 2025, returning to a negative net income, interrupting the generally positive trend seen prior. This volatility indicates periods of both strong profitability and financial strain within the timeframe analyzed.

Total assets show a general upward trajectory from the beginning of the available periods through late 2024, growing from approximately 246.6 billion US dollars in early 2020 to a peak nearing 289.3 billion by December 2024. However, a slight decline is observed in the most recent quarter, suggesting a possible contraction or asset optimization strategy near the end of the observed data set.

The Return on Assets (ROA) percentage data, available from late 2020 onward, reflects a relatively stable profitability profile, fluctuating mostly within a narrow range between approximately 3.5% and 3.9%, with peaks near 5.3% in late 2020. Some decline is noted in the first quarter of 2025 to around 2.1%, coinciding with the decrease in net income, which indicates reduced efficiency in asset utilization during this recent period.

Net Income Trends

Significant fluctuations with recovery after mid-2020 losses; predominantly positive earnings from late 2020 through 2024, interrupted by a negative result in early 2025.

Total Assets Trends

Steady growth in asset base over most of the observed period with a peak in late 2024, followed by a minor decrease in early 2025.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Relatively consistent profitability with ROA mostly between 3.5% and 3.9%, peaking above 5% in late 2020, then declining notably in early 2025.