General Motors management check
GM · Consumer Discretionary · Automobile Manufacturers · CEO Mary T Barra
Filings as of
5 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $202, against $149 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.88 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.1% of net income$29.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $2.8bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.9 years of payThe CEO holds 641,737 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.9 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $110.0m sold in six months. 28 of 28 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -15.7% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
6 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Ms. Barra. 6 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Consumer Discretionary.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 94 | 70 | |
| Pay for performance | 94 | 79 | |
| CEO cost | 47 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | 49 | 36 | |
| Dilution | 100 | 74 | |
| Stable leadership | 95 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Automobile Manufacturers, by management score. General Motors is 4th of 47 in its sector.
- 38GMGeneral Motors83
- 46LULULululemon Athletica81
- 52TPRTapestry, Inc.80
- 54LOWLowe's80
- 174FFord Motor Company71
- 408TSLATesla, Inc.52
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 20, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ms. Barra | $29.9m | $87.8m | $20.8m | $202 | $149 | $2.8bn |
| 2024 | — | $29.5m | $65.5m | $12.8m | $131 | $121 | $6.0bn |
| 2023 | — | $27.8m | $21.7m | $15.2m | $88 | $113 | $9.8bn |
| 2022 | — | $29.0m | −$17.0m | $10.5m | $81 | $85 | $9.7bn |
| 2021 | — | $29.1m | $76.1m | $10.0m | $141 | $125 | $9.9bn |
The board says pay is tied most to EBIT-adjusted. Its other key measures: EBIT-adjusted Margin, elative TSR.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Mary T Barra (Chair & CEO) held 641,737 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Jul 28, 2026, roughly $58.0m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $110.0m sold in six months. 28 of 28 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldMary T BarraChair & CEO · 10b5-1 plan$87.0mJul 28, 2026
- SoldRory HarveyExecutive Vice President · 10b5-1 plan$8.6mJul 27, 2026
- SoldMark L ReussPresident · 10b5-1 plan$6.4mJul 28, 2026
- SoldGrant Michael DixtonExecutive Vice President · 10b5-1 plan$3.5mAug 3, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 4, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 26, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 9, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Sep 5, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 25, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 13, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 22, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- May 3, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 22, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 22, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Oct 4, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 16, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 4, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $29.2bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 76% of net income, and $1.8bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $113.6bn | $144.0bn | $157.7bn | $171.6bn | $168.0bn |
| Net income | $9.9bn | $9.7bn | $9.8bn | $6.0bn | $2.8bn |
| Stock-based pay | $391.0m | $419.0m | $340.0m | $332.0m | $334.0m |
| Buybacks | $0 | $2.5bn | $11.1bn | $7.1bn | $6.0bn |
| Dividends | $186.0m | $397.0m | $597.0m | $653.0m | $657.0m |
| Diluted shares | 1468m | 1454m | 1369m | 1129m | 973m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.