General Motors (NYSE: GM) stock has been a mediocre investment. Since 2020 shares have only returned 33%. That’s less than 6% a year, and only narrowly more when considering dividend yield. The once great American automaker trades for $49b today. That’s less than Allstate, Monster Beverage, and Phillips 66.

Selling Shares With a Vengeance

Insiders have been voting with their wallet. In the last twelve months they have sold 3,052,814 shares of GM stock. At the current share price that’s worth $151,785,912, a staggering sum that does not suggest leadership has a lot of faith in the future of General Motors. Some of the largest sellers include:

• Craig B Glidden – Sold 383,142 shares at nearly $57 per share on 11/18/2024, worth nearly $22m at the time.
• CEO Mary Barra – Sold 206,824 shares at 57.6 per share on 11/11/2024, worth $11.9m.
• Barra also sold 506,824 shares on 10/23/2024, and 326,305 on 6/11/2024
• Mark Reuss was also a material seller, dumping 122,283 shares on 11/06/2024

As the saying goes, people sell for many reasons. We can’t know the motivation behind each sale, but the sheer magnitude of them in 2024 paint a very pessimistic view from insiders and executives.

2025 Has Flipped From Pessimism to Optimism

But insider activity in 2025 is looking much more positive. While the last twelve months had insiders selling nearly 6x the number of shares they were acquiring, that was heavily weighted to 2024. The balance has flipped so far in 2025. Insiders have purchased 466,964 shares in the last three months compared to only 231,889 shares sold.

That is a huge vote of confidence as insiders typically only buy shares for one reason. But a little more context is needed. The overwhelming majority of these are options executions at a $0.00 strike price. While it’s still positive to see, the majority of these shares aren’t true open market acquisitions that require an actual outlay. Some material orders include:

• CEO Mary Barra exercising 42,730 options on 2/06/2025
• Mark Reuss exercising 30,596 on the same date
• Paul Jacobson doing the same with 20,379 shares

There were some direct, open market buys though. Alfred Kelly purchased 12,000 shares on 1/30/2025, valued at $596,640 today.

Many Variables In Play, And More Time Is Needed

While the signals from insiders were decidedly negative in 2024, 2025 is off to a better start. While there aren’t a lot of open market purchases, at least the balance has shifted back towards net acquisitions vs net sales. We are still too early in the year to see where things land however. The on again, off again tariffs of the last few months have rattled the markets and automakers like GM, Ford (NYSE: F) and Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) are particularly exposed.

Many vehicles are built in Mexico, and sold to Canada. Further, proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum could push inputs much higher. That couldn’t come at a worse time as Americans struggle with affordability, high car insurance, and other inflationary pressure.

One thing is for sure though, insiders are sending a more positive signal at GM than the ones at Ford, whose executives continue to dump shares.

 

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