General Motors

Overview

Founded in 1908 by William Durant, General Motors is the parent company for some of America's most iconic car brands, including Buick, GMC, Chevrolet, and Cadillac. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, GM is among the "Big Three" automakers alongside manufacturing heavyweights Ford and Stellantis (which now owns Chrysler). The brand has been listed in the Fortune 500's number-one spot more times than any other company. At its peak, GM's market capitalization hit over $90B around 2021. However, due to factors including tariffs and losses tied to its electric vehicle production pullback, GM's market cap had declined to about $77B by August 2026.

Throughout the 20th century, fierce competition between Ford Motor Company and General Motors drove rapid advancements in automobiles, leading to the personal vehicle becoming a fixture in American life. While Ford focused its early efforts on the highly affordable Model T, GM offered a multitude of brands at varying price points—ultimately helping it beat out Ford as the largest American car manufacturer in 1931.

Today, GM is often used as a proxy for understanding the health of the American economy: It supported nearly one million domestic jobs as of April 2025, and, in 2021, contributed $10B more to the US GDP than the value of all US crop production combined. GM has also been the center of multiple scandals, including labor disputes, consumer safety concerns over its cars' hardware and driverless-car investments, and the government assistance it received in the wake of the Great Recession.

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