General Motors Stock Rides A 5-Day Winning Streak To A 15% Gain
Shares of General Motors (GM) have closed higher in each of the last 5 sessions, a cumulative gain of 15.1%. That added about $10.0 billion to the company’s market value, which now stands at about $76.2 billion. The stock closed at $87.40 on Friday, October 30, 3.0% below its 52-week high of $90.11 and 31.8% above its low of $66.30.
GM Versus The S&P 500
Returns for GM and the S&P 500 over the streak and the periods around it, all ending Friday, October 30 and including dividends:
| Return Period | GM | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Day | 2.0% | -1.8% |
| 5 Days (Current Streak) | 15.1% | -0.6% |
| 1 Month (21 Trading Days) | 10.2% | -1.1% |
| 3 Months (63 Trading Days) | -0.1% | 0.0% |
| Year To Date | 8.2% | 11.8% |
| 1 Year (252 Trading Days) | 27.5% | 11.3% |
A Stock-Specific Run, Or A Market Move?
Over the same 5 trading days, the S&P 500 returned -0.6% including dividends, so the run is mostly General Motors’ own story rather than the market’s. 11 other S&P 500 stocks are currently on winning streaks of 5 days or longer. Over the past three months the stock is down 0.1%, a window that includes the streak; over the other 58 sessions of that window it was down 13.2%.
Do The Fundamentals Support The Run?
On the fundamentals, revenue declined 0.3% over the last twelve months, against a median of 7.4% for S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary stocks; and its operating margin is 2.3%, versus a median of 14.9%. At least one of the last four quarters was a loss, so a price-to-earnings multiple would not be a meaningful yardstick here. The numbers make the run harder to justify: shrinking revenue and margins below the median. At this price, the stock is asking a lot of the business.
A climb like this is worth respecting, and worth testing. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks the stocks whose companies just raised their own forward numbers.
For anyone who would rather back the theme than one company, a consumer discretionary ETF like XLY holds the whole group, not just this stock. It is still a concentrated bet on one theme, which is the gap the portfolio below is built to close.
One Hot Stock Is A Story. Thirty Sound Ones Are A Strategy
A streak like this earns a place on your watchlist, and it also earns a question: how much of your outcome do you want depending on one company keeping this up?
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio answers it with breadth: roughly 30 businesses picked for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and balance-sheet strength, sized and rebalanced by rules. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Follow the story; invest in the strategy.