GM and Ally Earnings Preview: What Wall Street Will Learn About the American Car Buyer
GM arrives with six straight earnings beats and a CEO who thinks the stock is cheap, while Ally faces a wave of analyst downgrades and rising credit pressure. Tuesday morning will reveal whether American car buyers are still willing to…
General Motors (NYSE:GM | GM Price Prediction) and Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) both report third-quarter results before the markets open on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Together, the two reports show what Americans are paying for cars and how well they are paying back the loans.
Pricing Power Meets a Lender Under Pressure
GM comes into the report with six consecutive EPS beats. In the second quarter, adjusted EPS of $3.57 came in ahead of the $3.18 consensus. The North America margin expanded 2.5 points to 8.6%, and management raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance for the second time, to $12.00 to $14.00. Shares have gained 44.8% over the past year.
Ally’s second quarter was messier. Adjusted EPS of $1.21 missed the $1.22 consensus, even though originations rose 21% to $13.3 billion on a record 4.6 million applications. That built on a first quarter in which CEO Michael Rhodes cited a record 4.4 million consumer applications and $11.5 billion in originations, a 13% increase year over year despite lower industry sales. The stock is down 17.7% year to date.
Consensus Estimates for Both Reports
| Metric | GM | Ally |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 EPS estimate | $3.61 | $1.33 |
| YoY EPS growth | 28.75% | 15.8% |
| Q3 2026 revenue estimate | $48.67 billion | $2.29 billion |
| YoY revenue growth | 0.16% | 5.9% |
| FY2026 EPS estimate | $13.51 | $5.05 |
| FY2026 EPS growth | 27.4% | 32.6% |
| FY2026 revenue estimate | $185.83 billion | $9.01 billion |
| FY2026 revenue growth | 0.45% | 13.9% |
Truck Margins, Charge-Offs, and Deposit Rates Set the Tone
For GM, the North America margin matters most. On The Clark Howard Podcast on September 21, 2026, Clark Howard said Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and GM decided they “would rather sell a lot less metal for a lot more money than get market share.” If the 8.6% margin slips, buyers may be pushing back on price. Gross tariff cost guidance of $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion and any further EV charges deserve a close look; a third guidance raise would confirm that demand is holding.
Ally shows whether those buyers can keep up with payments. Second-quarter retail auto net charge-offs of 1.57% came in below the full-year guidance of 1.8% to 2.0%, and 47% of originations came from the top credit tier. Delinquencies had improved year over year for five consecutive quarters, so check whether that streak continued. Analysts have turned more cautious, with 13 downward revisions to Q3 EPS estimates over the past 30 days.
Deposits are the third piece. Ally’s average retail deposit rate fell to 3.12%, which lifted net interest margin (excluding the original issue discount) to 3.63%. On August 25, 2026, Wes Moss answered a Clark Howard Podcast listener whose Ally rate had dropped. He warned that banks “give you a teaser rate and then they’ll lower it over time,” and pointed savers toward money market funds.
One Morning Could Reset the Car Buyer Story
GM CEO Mary Barra told Mad Money on October 12, 2026, “We do think the stock is undervalued. We have the strongest vehicle portfolio that we’ve ever had.” On leaving Cruise, she said, “We’re not in the taxi business, we’re not in the bus business.” Firm pricing at GM and clean credit at Ally would show that buyers are still paying up and paying back. Weakness in either report would change how investors see both stocks.
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Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.
Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community.
Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.
Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions.
