General Motors (GM) shares climbed Tuesday after the automaker reported second-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year outlook. The message from Detroit? Americans still love their big trucks, and that demand isn't going anywhere.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.57, topping the analyst consensus of $3.20. Revenue edged up 1.9% year over year to $48.03 billion, also ahead of estimates. Net income attributable to stockholders fell 31.1% to $1.31 billion, but that was largely due to accounting charges related to the company's electric vehicle restructuring. Adjusted EBIT, which strips out those one-time items, rose nearly 30% to $3.94 billion, and the adjusted margin expanded to 8.2% from 6.4% a year ago.

North America Carries the Load

The real story is in North America, where GM's adjusted EBIT surged 42.7% to $3.45 billion. The margin there improved to 8.6% from 6.1%, thanks to strong demand for pickup trucks and SUVs, disciplined incentive spending, and operating efficiencies. GM remains the top-selling automaker in the U.S. and holds a commanding 43% of the full-size pickup market. Fleet sales rose 16%, and dealer inventory ended the quarter at about 511,000 vehicles.

Internationally, the picture was mixed. GM International's adjusted EBIT slipped 6.6% to $190 million as shipping disruptions in the Middle East offset stronger results in South America. China equity income rose 16.9% to $83 million, marking the seventh consecutive profitable quarter for the company's restructured joint ventures there.

Wholesale vehicle volume increased to 990,000 from 974,000 a year earlier, though worldwide deliveries declined 7.2% to 1.43 million vehicles, reflecting the shift in mix toward higher-margin trucks and away from lower-margin models.

EVs: Growing Pains, but Progress

GM remains the No. 2 seller of electric vehicles in the U.S., with an estimated year-to-date market share of about 13%. But the transition hasn't been cheap. The company has recorded $10.9 billion in EV-related charges since the second half of 2025, including $7.2 billion with a cash impact. Of that, GM has paid $4.5 billion. CFO Paul Jacobson said the company has now completed the material cash charges needed to align its EV production capacity, suggesting the worst of the spending is behind it.

On the connected services front, OnStar deferred revenue jumped nearly 50% to $6.3 billion, while recognized revenue rose more than 20% to $800 million. Revenue from Super Cruise, GM's hands-free driving system, advanced about 70%.

Cash Flow and Buybacks

GM's cash flow machine is humming. Automotive operating cash flow increased 9% to $5.07 billion, and adjusted automotive free cash flow soared 78% to $5.03 billion. The company used some of that cash to repurchase $2 billion of stock during the quarter, retiring 24.9 million shares. It ended the quarter with $19.7 billion in automotive cash, $33.6 billion in total automotive liquidity, and $16 billion in automotive debt.

Raising Guidance, But Tariffs Loom

GM raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $12-$14 from $11.50-$13.50, compared with the analyst consensus of $12.76. It also increased adjusted EBIT guidance to $14 billion-$16 billion from $13.5 billion-$15.5 billion. However, it lowered its GAAP diluted EPS forecast to $8.98-$10.98 from $10.62-$12.62, reflecting the EV charges.

The company expects gross tariff costs of $2.5 billion-$3.5 billion in 2026 and anticipates $1.5 billion-$2 billion in commodity, logistics, and DRAM inflation. That's a headwind, but GM seems confident it can manage through it.

GM said the next-generation Chevrolet Silverado LD and GMC Sierra LD pickups will begin launching in December, and it expects improving business trends to support revenue, margins, EBIT, and cash flow into 2027 and beyond.

Executives on Defense and EVs

Chair and CEO Mary Barra said the next-generation Silverado and Sierra pickups will arrive in showrooms in December. She also noted that GM Defense revenue is expected to approach $700 million in 2026 and grow at an average annual rate of more than 30% over the next several years.

CFO Paul Jacobson added that shipping disruptions affected Middle East wholesale volumes, while pricing contributed a $600 million year-over-year benefit during the first half of 2026.

GM shares were up 3.59% at $78.52 at the time of publication Tuesday.