One of Detroit's legacy automakers, General Motors (GM -0.17%), is busy delivering strong results to its loyal investors. It's posted strong earnings, a blueprint for the future of the automotive industry, and even raised guidance for 2023. Even with solid financial results, the stock trades at a modest price-to-earnings ratio of 5.3 times.
Ignore that General Motors is unloved by Wall Street, because here are five reasons why main street investors can buy GM hand over fist.
1. Cruise is cruising
While crosstown rival Ford Motor Company (F 0.66%) decided to throw in the towel on developing its own autonomous vehicles through Argo AI, General Motors has accelerated its own driverless vehicle development through Cruise.
GM is the only automaker with both Level 2 and Level 4 autonomous vehicle technology, with a scalable vehicle ready for production.
Through the first quarter, GM's Cruise subsidiary has continued to scale with over 1.5 million fully driverless miles driven by roughly 240 autonomous vehicles navigating the streets. Cruise is targeting annual revenue of $50 billion by 2030.
GM will have to scale this exciting new robotaxi business opportunity and turn it into a profit maker in the future, but it has a massive advantage over its historical manufacturing competitors developing this adjacent business.
2. The Future is Bright...drop
BrightDrop is GM's solution for businesses needing electric van fleets to distribute products and services, with a focus on last-mile delivery. Essentially, GM offers businesses fleets of electric vans that can help reduce costs, and it can offer fleet optimization of maintenance and other data with its software technology.
BrightDrop is already linked to some big names, such as Walmart, FedEx, Hertz, and Ryder, among numerous others. BrightDrop is already on track to generate $1 billion in revenue in 2023.
Further down the road, BrightDrop is expected to generate up to $10 billion in revenue at 20% profit margins by the end of the decade -- this is growth investors don't typically expect from legacy automakers.
3. Rising up the EV ranks
Many investors know GM sells hundreds of thousands of high-value full-size trucks and SUVs annually. Fewer investors noticed that General Motors delivered more than 20,000 EVs during the first quarter of 2023, driven by the third consecutive quarter of record Bolt EV and EUV deliveries and increasing Cadillac LYRIQ sales.
GM's accelerating EV sales helped the automaker move into the No. 2 spot for EV sales in the U.S. market, overtaking Ford. That's expected to take another jump higher in the immediate future: GM expects to produce 50,000 EVs during the first half of this year, with that figure moving to 100,000 for the second half alone.
GM's expanding lineup of EV offerings is expected to generate over $50 billion in revenue in 2025 and to reach mid-single-digit EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) profit margins in that same year. If management accomplishes this task, it will be about a year ahead of cross-town rival Ford.
4. The year of Ultium
While GM's Ultium platform hasn't generated massive headlines, savvy investors understand it will be key for the automaker to push ahead with profitable EVs. The Detroit automaker began developing the Ultium EV platform in 2018, and it was designed to be incredibly flexible and used in vehicles as small as a compact EV to as large as a full-size truck EV or Hummer EV.
GM will launch seven EVs using the Ultium platform by the end of 2023, including the popular Chevy Silverado EV and Hummer pickup/SUV EVs. Expanding the use of its Ultium platform is one critical step for GM to drive battery costs lower to eventually develop a $40,000 EV that generates a 20% margin.
5. Haul the big bucks
The previous four reasons mostly look into the future potential growth of GM for investors, and that's obviously important. But just as important, currently, is that GM's legacy business is still thriving and funding these future ambitions.
GM continues to lead the U.S. industry in fleet sales and commercial sales, driven by full-size pickups, SUVs, midsize pickups, and BrightDrop electric vans.
Further, while GM continues to churn out hundreds of thousands of expensive trucks and SUVs, what should thrill investors is that many are high-trim levels -- which generate stronger margins than base models. In fact, one example is that top trim levels generate 52% of orders for the Chevrolet Silverado and 30% for GMC Sierra.
It's also important to realize that GM's current vehicles are highly regarded compared to decades past. In fact, four GM brands ranked in the top three for customer service satisfaction, and 12 vehicles ranked in the top three for dependability, per surveys by J.D. Power.
The bottom line
General Motors was once considered an aging dinosaur -- an outdated relic of the past. Management has quickly changed this narrative as the company has evolved into a much more forward-thinking and strategic company.
GM's focus on the future of autonomous vehicles, adjacent markets, and new revenue streams, EVs, while still generating impressive earnings from its legacy manufacturing business, are just a handful of the reasons GM is a compelling automotive stock to buy now -- and at a price-to-earnings ratio of only 5 times, now might be a good time to scoop up some shares.
