General Motors: Beyond the Dividend

General Motors, it seems, concluded 2025 with a certain… competence. The numbers, as they are wont to do, suggested a modest triumph over expectations, a raising of forecasts, and the predictable gesture of a dividend increase. A share buyback, too, of six billion dollars. One almost feels a flicker of… not joy, precisely, but a quiet acknowledgement of continued existence.

Over the past three years, the stock has doubled, a fact that feels less like a cause for celebration and more like a belated correction. Ford, meanwhile, has… remained. A single percent gain. The broader market, naturally, did better. Sixty-eight percent. One wonders if the market, like a fickle acquaintance, simply prefers a more animated companion.

The Illusion of Value

Ford deserves credit, of course, for its dividend. A consistent return of forty to fifty percent of free cash flow. A dependable habit, like a distant relative sending a small, predictable remittance. And the Ford family, still holding a special class of shares, ensures the continuation of this tradition. A comfortable arrangement, built on the quiet understanding of shared interests.

General Motors’ dividend yield, at a mere 0.8%, is… modest. A whisper against the roar of the market. But to focus solely on the dividend is to miss the larger, more subtle currents at play. The company has, in fact, been engaged in a rather substantial repurchase of its own shares – twenty-two billion dollars’ worth, since 2023. A curious exercise, like a man buying back pieces of his own past.

A Calculation of Returns

There is a metric, favored by those who enjoy such things, called “Total Yield.” It combines the dividend with the buyback yield. A neat summation, as if one could truly capture the essence of a company in a single number. It allows for a comparison, of sorts, between Ford and GM, two companies traveling divergent paths toward the same elusive goal: returning value to shareholders.

Ford’s dividend, at 4.5%, is, on the surface, more generous than GM’s 0.8%. But when one factors in the buybacks, the equation shifts. GM’s total yield reaches 8.6%, surpassing Ford’s 5.6%. A rearrangement of figures, a slight alteration of perspective. It doesn’t necessarily change anything, but it offers a different way of looking at the same landscape.

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The truth, as it often is, is complicated. General Motors is, at this moment, returning more value than its competitor, even if the latter enjoys a certain… reputation. A preference for the familiar, perhaps. A fondness for the predictable.

General Motors has navigated the tariff headwinds with a quiet competence. Now, if investors were to truly recognize the value being returned, perhaps a small position would be warranted. A cautious investment, in a company that, despite everything, continues to… exist. The market, of course, will do what it always does. And life, as we know, goes on, filled with unrealized potential and the quiet acceptance of things as they are.

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2026-02-05 19:14