Shares of General Motors (GM -0.72%) jumped by as much as 10.1% on Tuesday morning after the company reported fourth-quarter results. Shares gave back some of those gains, but were still up by 6.5% as of 11 a.m. ET.

GM continues to perform

In the quarter, GM reported $43.0 billion in revenue, $1.3 billion in adjusted automotive free cash flow, and $1.24 in earnings per share. Analysts had been expecting $39.5 million in revenue and earnings of $1.16 per share. For 2024, management is guiding for earnings per share of $8.50 to $9.50, and adjusted automotive free cash flow of $8 billion to $10 billion.

More share buybacks coming

In November, GM announced a $10 billion accelerated share buyback plan, which included a $6.8 billion immediate buyback. That dropped the number of shares outstanding to 1.2 billion, according to comments on the conference call. But the plan is to reduce that further with cash generated by the business, and management said they hope to get to under 1 billion shares outstanding.

I think the upside for GM is that buybacks at a price-to-earnings multiple of around 5 -- where shares trade currently -- will drive tremendous returns over the long term. And if the market doesn't move the stock higher, management appears happy to buy more shares back with ongoing cash flow.

EVs continue to grow, but GM's core auto business isn't dying anytime soon, and investors are finally starting to pay attention.