General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM)

A review of the financial information reveals a generally declining trend in profitability metrics over the five-year period. While initial values are substantial, a consistent decrease is observed across all reported measures – Net income attributable to stockholders, Earnings before tax, Earnings before interest and tax, and Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

EBITDA Trend

EBITDA demonstrates a clear downward trajectory, beginning at US$25,717 million in 2021 and decreasing to US$18,432 million in 2025. The rate of decline appears to accelerate in the later years of the period. The decrease from 2021 to 2022 is approximately 7.2%, while the decrease from 2023 to 2025 is approximately 20.9%.

Relationship between Profitability Measures

The difference between EBITDA and EBIT remains relatively consistent across the observed period, indicating a stable depreciation and amortization expense. However, the gap between EBIT and Earnings before tax widens slightly from 2021 to 2023, then narrows in 2024 and 2025, suggesting fluctuations in interest expense or other non-operating items. The difference between Earnings before tax and Net income attributable to stockholders also fluctuates, indicating changes in the effective tax rate.

Net Income Decline

Net income attributable to stockholders exhibits a similar declining pattern to EBITDA, starting at US$10,019 million in 2021 and falling to US$2,697 million in 2025. The most significant drop in net income occurs between 2023 and 2024, decreasing by approximately 40.4%. This substantial decrease suggests a considerable impact from factors affecting profitability after EBIT.

Overall, the financial information indicates a weakening profitability position over the analyzed timeframe. The consistent decline in EBITDA, coupled with the decreasing net income, warrants further investigation into the underlying drivers of these trends. A detailed analysis of revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, interest expense, and tax rates would be necessary to pinpoint the specific factors contributing to the observed performance.

The Enterprise Value to EBITDA ratio exhibited a fluctuating pattern over the five-year period. Initially, the ratio decreased before increasing again, ultimately reaching its highest point in the observed timeframe.

Enterprise Value to EBITDA Trend

In 2021, the Enterprise Value to EBITDA ratio stood at 6.40. A decrease was observed in 2022, with the ratio falling to 5.96. The ratio experienced a slight increase in 2023, reaching 6.17. A more pronounced increase occurred in 2024, with the ratio rising to 7.12. The most significant change was observed in 2025, where the ratio increased substantially to 9.91.

Enterprise Value remained relatively stable between 2021 and 2023, experiencing a decline in 2022 before a modest recovery. A noticeable increase in Enterprise Value is apparent in 2024 and 2025.

Enterprise Value Analysis

Enterprise Value began at US$164,511 million in 2021, decreased to US$142,368 million in 2022, and then rose to US$143,220 million in 2023. Further increases were recorded in 2024 (US$154,903 million) and 2025 (US$182,742 million).

EBITDA demonstrated a consistent downward trend throughout the period. The rate of decline accelerated in the later years of the observation period.

EBITDA Analysis

EBITDA started at US$25,717 million in 2021, decreasing to US$23,874 million in 2022. The decline continued in 2023 (US$23,202 million) and 2024 (US$21,754 million), culminating in US$18,432 million in 2025.

The increasing EV/EBITDA ratio, coupled with decreasing EBITDA, suggests that the enterprise value is growing at a faster rate than the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This could indicate increased investor optimism or a shift in market perception regarding the company’s future prospects, despite declining operational earnings.