It is good to see GM making money for back in the 1950’s someone said as goes GM so does the country. For many years it was true because the production of cars lead to many people working. There were many spinoffs and GM had a number of lines which cater to people’s income and social status. For a long time many thought the lines would be true for as long as automobiles were being built. Then change came – prices of gas went up; people were interested in a quality vehicles and there was competition which slowly built up market share (the Japanese auto companies). Times changed but GM moved slowly.

In an article by Nick Carey and Joseph White of Reuters, GM is back on top and making money. There are still plenty of challenges, but GM is making money from high margin vehicles that have a truck base – trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. The US auto makers have sold more than 17 million units and GM expects that number to continue. In addition, the hurricanes in Florida and Texas caused many vehicles to be flooded which means new vehicles need to be bought as the insurance money comes in.

As an investor you need to look to the future and part of the future will be electric cars. Many years ago there was a movie called Did GM kill the electric car? the answer was maybe, this time the electric vehicle will be produced and where is GM in the mix? Some analysts believe GM test fleet of self driving cars can be converted into a lucrative robotaxi operation worth billions. The division is called Mavern which has plans for 20 new electric models by 2023.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies go through cycles often they are highly influenced by the people in the boardroom, as you examined the companies ensure that the people in the boardroom have the ability to seek the best alternatives and not be content with sitting still or the status quo.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.