MW GM's AI story is taking shape as the carmaker aims to distinguish itself from rivals like Tesla
By William Gavin and Emily Bary
The Detroit automaker 'sees a ton of potential' in its Super Cruise technology, an executive said
General Motors trucks and SUVs remained popular in the most recent quarter, despite growing pressure from gasoline prices.
General Motors delivered solid earnings for the March quarter, with autonomous-driving technology playing an increasingly important role.
By expanding its autonomous-vehicle offerings, GM $(GM)$ sees ways to differentiate itself from competitors. The company has offered its Super Cruise advanced driver assistance system since 2017.
GM said that some 50,000 Super Cruise customers were added last quarter, putting the company on track to surpass 850,000 paid subscribers by the end of the year. That would leave it trailing behind industry leader Tesla $(TSLA)$, which had 1.28 million subscribers to its more advanced driverless vehicle tech as of March.
GM aims to advance Super Cruise by bringing an eyes-off driving feature to market by 2028, which will help it compete with both the rise of robotaxi companies and rivals' ADAS technology. A next-generation computing platform designed to improve the software in GM vehicles is also set to launch in 2028.
"We see a ton of potential here because we're already driving approximately $7.5 billion of deferred revenue" with the current portfolio, GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said on a call with analysts on Tuesday, according to a transcript.
GM, like other companies, is leaning heavily on new technology to move more quickly. Almost 90% of the code written by its autonomy team is now generated by artificial intelligence, CEO Mary Barra said.
Barra also touted the company's focus on safety and building trust with customers who may be interested in Super Cruise. Last year, GM folded its Cruise robotaxi unit into the Super Cruise team to focus on autonomous-vehicle technology. Cruise was shut down in late 2024 after an incident in the prior year damaged its reputation and drew mass scrutiny.
Super Cruise, which falls under GM's OnStar subsidiary, has been a contributor to the company's push for its North American business to have margins of between 9% and 10% this year, according to Barra. In the first quarter, GM said it delivered a margin of 10.1% on adjusted earnings before interest and tax, though that also included a one-time tariff-related benefit.
The company raised its full-year outlook in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent tariff ruling. GM now expects $13.5 billion to $15.5 billion in adjusted earnings before income and taxes, up from a projected range of $13 billion to $13.5 billion previously. It also cut its expectations for tariff costs to between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion from a prior range that called for up to $4 billion.
GM posted adjusted earnings per share of $3.70, up from $2.78 a year before, whereas the FactSet consensus had been for $2.60. First-quarter revenue came in at $43.6 billion, down 0.9% from a year before, while analysts tracked by FactSet had been modeling $43.5 billion.
Barra and her leadership team "continue to navigate this very difficult tariff and EV environment while tapping into alternative revenue streams with high margins to stabilize its margins," Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a note to clients.
The Detroit company, like many of its fellow carmakers, saw sales take a dive in the first quarter compared with 2025 as conflict between the U.S. and Iran drove prices at the pump above $4 a gallon. However, GM said that customer shopping behavior has stayed "consistent" and demand for its pickup trucks and crossover SUVs remains strong, with crossovers significantly contributing to profits.
"The biggest variable that we're looking at is how long does the conflict last and what does it cause from a cost perspective across logistics, supply chain and if it ends up having ... any impact on a shift in mix," Barra said on a call with analysts. "But to date, we really haven't seen that."
While GM is a leading U.S. electric-vehicle maker, the company sold several thousand fewer EVs in the first quarter than it did a year earlier. It also booked $1.1 billion in special charges related to its EV pullback, adding to more than $7 billion in charges it took last year. Rival carmakers, including Ford $(F)$, took similar action as they expected EV sales to slow.
Read on: Looking to get an EV for the first time? How to avoid making a huge financial mistake.
-William Gavin -Emily Bary
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April 28, 2026 10:39 ET (14:39 GMT)
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