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Analyst Alexander Perry and his team see the potential for upward estimate revisions given the shift away from electric vehicle and emissions mandates that limited profitability over the past several years.

Notably, 2026 was called the year of the pickup, as U.S. OEMs are seen being in a more favorable position to prioritize the production of their most margin-accretive gas-powered vehicles, especially pickup trucks, while delaying or cancelling lower-margin electric vehicle models. “We expect EV sales to decline 20%+ in 2026 from the phaseout of consumer incentives, while automakers’ cancellation of 40% of EV programs and extension of over 45% of ICE programs will pressure penetration over the next several years,” wrote Perry.

General Motors (GM) was assigned a Buy rating by BofA as a key beneficiary of recent regulatory changes, including the removal of CAFÉ penalties and greenhouse gas relief, which is enabling GM (GM) to mix shift to its most margin-accretive trucks/SUVs and away from unprofitable electric vehicles in the near term.

Ford Motor (F) also earned a Buy rating as a more favorable regulatory backdrop in the U.S. is expected to enable the Detroit automaker to mix shift to its most margin-accretive truck/SUV platforms.

Shares of General Motors (GM) were up 0.8% in premarket trading and are more than 60% higher over the last 52 weeks. Ford Motor (F) rose 0.9% in the early session and is 35% higher over the last year.

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On the other side, analysts are advising caution on previous outperformers. Daniel Jones has downgraded General Motors (GM) to Hold following a 91% rally, pointing to valuation concerns and scaled-back EV production. Tech Stock Pros has issued a Sell rating on AMD (AMD), viewing its equity-for-demand strategy with Meta and OpenAI as a red flag for underlying chip demand.

Upgrades

• Nebius Group (NBIS): Highly Bullish rating maintained by Michael Wiggins De Oliveira. The analyst highlights Nebius’s projected 550% year-over-year revenue jump to $4 billion in 2026 and notes that customer contracts have already secured the majority of its massive capex requirements, significantly de-risking the expansion.

“NBIS is growing frenetically, while its management team is doing everything in its power to minimize its dilution. In fact, nearly 60% of Nebius’ roughly $18 billion of capex in 2026 is already financed, the majority of which comes from customers’ long-term contracts. … Therefore, this is my thesis: that paying 6x sales for NBIS is a giveaway.”

• CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD): Upgrade Neutral to Buy by JR Research. The analyst believes the market overreacted to perceived competition from Anthropic’s Claude Code Security, arguing that CrowdStrike’s runtime endpoint protection addresses a fundamentally different layer of enterprise security than code vulnerability scanning.

“CRWD’s ability to beat expectations and maintain its current cadence has also surprised me. Moreover, with the recent software forest fire engulfing even top-notch and high-quality stocks like CRWD, it has also brought its valuation down to its 3-year average, and about the 85x forward earnings level.”

Downgrades

• General Motors Company (GM): Downgrade Buy to Hold by Daniel Jones. Following a 91% rally since April 2024, the analyst argues the valuation is no longer as attractive, especially as GM scales back EV production, absorbs $7.6 billion in EV-related charges, and faces softening demand in the U.S. and China.

“I fully believe in the company and its prospects, especially when it comes to the electric vehicle market. But with economic conditions worsening and shares of the business no longer as cheap as they were in the past, I believe that downgrading it to a ‘hold’ is the appropriate choice.”

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD): Downgrade Buy to Sell by Tech Stock Pros. The analyst views AMD’s recent $60 billion chip deal with Meta—which includes performance-based warrants for up to 10% of AMD’s common stock—as a sign of desperation, suggesting the company is offering equity incentives because its upcoming MI450 chips are not seeing sufficient organic demand.

“We think the fact that AMD is having to commit to stakes in the company tied to deals for hyperscalers or OpenAI to purchase its chips is a big fat red flag. … We think it flags the upcoming MI450, which is weighted towards the second half of 2H, after Nvidia’s Vera Rubin release, is not seeing ample demand, and so AMD is creating it through attractive deals similar to the one we saw with OpenAI and again now with Meta.”

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On the other side, analysts are advising caution on previous outperformers. Daniel Jones has downgraded General Motors (GM) to Hold following a 91% rally, pointing to valuation concerns and scaled-back EV production. Tech Stock Pros has issued a Sell rating on AMD (AMD), viewing its equity-for-demand strategy with Meta and OpenAI as a red flag for underlying chip demand.

Upgrades

• Nebius Group (NBIS): Highly Bullish rating maintained by Michael Wiggins De Oliveira. The analyst highlights Nebius’s projected 550% year-over-year revenue jump to $4 billion in 2026 and notes that customer contracts have already secured the majority of its massive capex requirements, significantly de-risking the expansion.

“NBIS is growing frenetically, while its management team is doing everything in its power to minimize its dilution. In fact, nearly 60% of Nebius’ roughly $18 billion of capex in 2026 is already financed, the majority of which comes from customers’ long-term contracts. … Therefore, this is my thesis: that paying 6x sales for NBIS is a giveaway.”

• CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD): Upgrade Neutral to Buy by JR Research. The analyst believes the market overreacted to perceived competition from Anthropic’s Claude Code Security, arguing that CrowdStrike’s runtime endpoint protection addresses a fundamentally different layer of enterprise security than code vulnerability scanning.

“CRWD’s ability to beat expectations and maintain its current cadence has also surprised me. Moreover, with the recent software forest fire engulfing even top-notch and high-quality stocks like CRWD, it has also brought its valuation down to its 3-year average, and about the 85x forward earnings level.”

Downgrades

• General Motors Company (GM): Downgrade Buy to Hold by Daniel Jones. Following a 91% rally since April 2024, the analyst argues the valuation is no longer as attractive, especially as GM scales back EV production, absorbs $7.6 billion in EV-related charges, and faces softening demand in the U.S. and China.

“I fully believe in the company and its prospects, especially when it comes to the electric vehicle market. But with economic conditions worsening and shares of the business no longer as cheap as they were in the past, I believe that downgrading it to a ‘hold’ is the appropriate choice.”

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD): Downgrade Buy to Sell by Tech Stock Pros. The analyst views AMD’s recent $60 billion chip deal with Meta—which includes performance-based warrants for up to 10% of AMD’s common stock—as a sign of desperation, suggesting the company is offering equity incentives because its upcoming MI450 chips are not seeing sufficient organic demand.

“We think the fact that AMD is having to commit to stakes in the company tied to deals for hyperscalers or OpenAI to purchase its chips is a big fat red flag. … We think it flags the upcoming MI450, which is weighted towards the second half of 2H, after Nvidia’s Vera Rubin release, is not seeing ample demand, and so AMD is creating it through attractive deals similar to the one we saw with OpenAI and again now with Meta.”

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“GM continues to navigate this difficult environment [of tariffs and EV restructuring] flawlessly to deliver strong bottom-line results with significant cash flow generation,” said Wedbush’s Dan Ives, noting GM’s gains in the company’s software and services business, supply chain efficiencies, and capital return to shareholders.

Fueled by healthy sales for its gas-powered vehicles and solid performance of its core businesses, GM (GM) beat on both the top- and bottom-line despite a 5% decline in total revenue.

The company also said it was increasing its quarterly dividend by 20%, buying back $6B in stock, and set FY25 profit guidance above expectations, the combination of which led analysts to reiterate their Buy rating on the stock.

“In our view, GM’s ability to generate EBIT margin from North American auto operations of 8-10% and free cash flow of $9B to $11B in 2026, despite ongoing tariff and [battery electric vehicle] headwinds are the positives supporting our Buy rating,” said Citi Research analyst Michael Ward.

While the stock continues to outperform the S&P 500 (now at 7K), GM (GM) has further upside potential with Seeking Alpha analyst The Asian Investor even considering the stock “undervalued” as the “increased dividend makes the stock more appealing to investors from a capital return perspective.”

Agrees TD Cowen’s Itay Michaeli, who predicts GM’s (GM) share price will climb to $122 on a “compelling go-forward risk/reward” and the potential for EBIT to reach $16B next year thanks to incremental truck capacity.

To drive this ambitious effort is GM’s (GM) restructuring of its supply chain to mitigate tariffs, right-sizing its EV business, increased focus on ICE business, SuperCruise growth, and momentum in its services business (parts, fleet management, GM Energy).

“Despite negative special items affecting GM—such as earnings-reducing charges related to the restructuring of its EV division—the automaker remained widely profitable in FY25,” the Asian Investor added.

During the company’s earnings call with analysts, CEO Mary Barra offered assurance that to ensure profitability, the company will continue to invest in EVs, albeit, “at much lower levels.”

“We know EV drivers don’t often go back to ICE, so we’ll continue executing our plan to dramatically reduce costs and be well positioned for the future.”

The company is also investing in robotics to improve manufacturing quality and lower costs and is building advanced technology for eyes-off and hands-off in its 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ.

“We believe we have everything we need to deliver a safe, reliable, and highly capable system that customers will embrace,” Barra added on the call.

Despite tariff headwinds and EV struggles, General Motors (GM) remains a Buy among both Wall Street analysts and Seeking Alpha authors. Additionally, Seeking Alpha’s Quant rating views GM (GM) as a Strong Buy with a nearly perfect quant score.

Although shares are surrendering some of Tuesday’s gains, GM (GM) stock continues to linger near its record high.

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Shares are gaining ground in premarket trading, currently trading nearly 4% higher into Tuesday’s opening bell.

While the company took a $7.2B hit to net income tied to losses in its EV division and decision to realign production, GM (GM) earned an adjusted profit of $2.51 per share, up 31% from a year ago and 25 cents above expectations. The charges to the company’s bottom-line resulted in an unadjusted net income margin of (7.3%) but 6.3% on an adjusted basis, up 100 basis points from the same quarter last year.

Total sales of $45.3B were down 5.1% from a year earlier and missed Wall Street’s expectations by $750M.

The automaker also issued upbeat profit guidance for the year, expecting adjusted earnings to be between $11.00 and $13.00 per share with a midpoint of $12.00 per share that exceeds $11.83 expectations. Additionally, operating cash flow generated by its automotive business is expected to be between $19B and $23B, up from $18.7B in 2025.

“We expect the U.S. new vehicle market will continue to be resilient, and with our compelling vehicles, technology-driven services, and operating discipline, 2026 should be an even better year for GM. We expect our full year EBIT-adjusted margins in North America will be back in the 8-10% margin range.” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders, adding that annual U.S. production is expected to rise to 2M units over the next few years.

With profits up and cash flow improving, General Motors (GM) will pay a higher quarterly dividend and buy back $6B in shares through a new repurchase authorization. On March 19, GM (GM) will pay shareholders a dividend of $0.18 per share, up 3 cents from the previous quarter.

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