Ford Vs GM: Which Auto Stock is the Better Investment After Revealing Q2 Sales?
F and General Motors
GM were notable standouts, outperforming Tesla
TSLA.
While Tesla saw its Q2 vehicle sales fall 13% due to weaker demand for its aging auto fleet and political backlash surrounding Elon Musk, Ford and GM gained ground in both traditional and electric vehicle segments.
Considering such, it may be a worthy conversation to discuss which auto stock is the better buy between Ford and GM at the moment.
Q2 & H1 Auto Sales
Led by its Maverick and F-Series pickup trucks, Ford's Q2 vehicle sales spiked an industry-leading 14% year over year to 612,095 units sold. This boosted Ford's vehicle sales for the first half of the year (H1) to 1.113 million, a 6% increase from H1 2024. Notably, Q2 pickup sales came to 288,564 units with F-Series and Maverick sales spiking 11% and 26% respectively.
As for GM, Q2 vehicle sales rose 7% to 746,588 units sold, driven by its Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick brands. Being GM's fastest growing brand so far this year, Buick saw a 29% uptick in H1 sales, with GM's total H1 vehicle sales up 11% to 1.4 million units.
Ford & GM's EV Expansion
Pinpointing EV expansion, GM gained ground on Tesla and stood out in particular. GM sold 46,280 EV units, spiking 111% from 21,930 in Q2 2024. Reaching an impressive milestone, Chevrolet became the best-selling EV brand during the quarter, led by the Blazer, Equinox, and Silverado models.
Underlying Ford's broader EV expansion was growth in hybrids, with the company's 'Electrified' vehicle segment selling 82,886 units, a 6% increase from a year ago. However, pure EVs sold dropped over 30% while hybrid sales soared 23%.
Stock Performance & Valuation Comparison
Rising +18% in 2025, Ford stock has topped the benchmark S&P 500's return of +5% and the Zacks Automotive-Domestic Market's +2%. Meanwhile, GM is down 1% to lag the broader market, although Tesla has paled in comparison, with declines of more than 20%.
Over the last three years, the performance is flipped with GM's gains of more than +60% being roughly on par with the benchmark and edging Tesla's +39%. During this period, Ford stock has been the laggard with gains of +4% but this has slightly edged the Automotive-Domestic Market.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In terms of value, GM stock certainly checks the box at just 5X forward earnings. Still, Ford's 10X forward earnings multiple offers a slight discount to their industry average of 11X and is well below the S&P 500's 23X. Plus, Ford and GM stock trade at less than 1X forward sales.
Ford & GM Dividend Comparison
Leveling the playing field in terms of value, Ford stock currently has a very enticing annual dividend of 5.29%. That said, GM's yield is at a respectable 1.15%, especially considering most of the Zacks Automotive-Domestic stocks don't offer a payout, including Tesla.
Bottom Line
Posting standout Q2 sales among domestic automakers, Ford and General Motors stock both land a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at the moment. To that point, these results have started to circumvent concerns that tariffs will have an overly dismal effect on their outlook, with GM and Ford starting to showcase long-term value to shareholders.
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