GM restores dividend, resumes stock buybacks
The automaker will make the first payment on Sept. 15 for shareholders of record on Aug. 31
General Motors is reinstating a quarterly cash dividend that was cut in April 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board of directors of the second largest U.S. automaker by sales after Toyota Motor authorized a 9 cents per share common stock dividend. The company last declared a dividend of 38 cents in February 2020.
GM is also resuming and increasing the limit its share repurchase program to $5 billion of common stock, up from the $3.3 billion that previously remained under the program.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS CO. | 45.10 | +1.85 | +4.28% |
The moves come as GM invests more than $35 billion through 2025 to advance its growth plan, including a rapid expansion of its electric vehicle portfolio and the creation of domestic battery manufacturing infrastructure.
"Progress on these key strategic initiatives has improved our visibility and strengthened confidence in our capacity to fund growth while also returning capital to shareholders," GM chair and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
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The company has seen "significant customer demand" following the launches of its GMC Hummer EV Pickup and Cadillac Lyriq, the first vehicles developed on GM's Ultium platform. Other GM electric vehicles with strong customer demand include the GMC Hummer EV SUV and Chevrolet Silverado EV.
GMC Hummer electric vehicles on the production line at General Motors' Factory ZERO all-electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit, Mich. on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. (Photographer: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Photographer: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
GM has also made the first customer deliveries for its BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric delivery vehicles, with commitments from companies including FedEx, Walmart and Verizon.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDX | FEDEX CORP. | 271.70 | +1.56 | +0.58% |
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 59.09 | -1.04 | -1.73% |
| VZ | VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. | 39.70 | +1.08 | +2.80% |
In addition, GM's majority-owned subsidiary Cruise has launched a fully driverless commercial ride-share service in San Francisco.
A robot car of the General Motors subsidiary Cruise on a test drive in San Francisco, Calif. (Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa (Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images) ((Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Through the execution of binding commitments, GM has successfully secured enough battery raw material to scale the company's EV production to more than 1 million units of annual capacity in North America by 2025.
GM's Ultium Cells LLC plant in Warren, Ohio is slated to come online later this month. The company has also made "significant construction progress" on Ultium Cells LLC plants in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Lansing, Michigan, which will open in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
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Combined, these plants are expected to create 6,000 construction jobs and 5,100 operations jobs when they are at full capacity. GM is also considering New Carlisle, Indiana for a potential fourth U.S. cell manufacturing plant.
As of the time of publication, GM shares are down more than 35% year to date.