Piper Sandler raised its price target on General Motors (NYSE:GM) to $105.00 from $98.00 on Wednesday and left its Overweight rating unchanged. The adjustment follows the automaker's fourth-quarter results and rests entirely on higher earnings-per-share expectations, the firm said.
GM shares were trading at $85.78 at the time of the update, approaching a 52-week high of $87.31. The stock has returned an impressive 74.41% over the past year.
Piper Sandler described General Motors' fourth-quarter performance as "solid" and pointed to a cluster of upward revisions to analyst earnings forecasts. According to InvestingPro data cited by the firm, six analysts recently increased their EPS estimates for GM's upcoming period, a signal of growing confidence in the company's near-term profit trajectory.
The brokerage emphasized that its valuation change is driven solely by higher EPS assumptions rather than an expanded multiple. Piper Sandler's $105 target is anchored to a multiple of 7 times projected 2027 earnings per share. In its analysis, the firm assumed a North America EBIT margin of 8% - a conservative stance that sits at the low end of GM's 2026 guidance.
Under Piper Sandler's view, the 2027 North America EBIT margin is expected to rise modestly to 8.6%, an increase of 60 basis points year-over-year. The firm added that if GM can achieve North America EBIT margins above 10%, the company could generate "well above $15/share in 2027," even without fully deploying potential share buyback capacity.
GM's latest quarterly results included an EPS of $2.51 for the fourth quarter of 2025, topping the consensus forecast of $2.24. Revenue for the quarter came in at $45.29 billion, slightly below expectations of $45.88 billion.
Other brokerages have also revised their targets. TD Cowen raised its price target to $122 while maintaining a Buy rating, citing upside to GM's 2026 guidance and a path to roughly $16 billion in EBIT next year. Mizuho increased its target from $100 to $105 and retained an Outperform rating.
Operationally, GM reported wholesale volumes of about 937,000 units in the quarter, a decline of roughly 10% year-over-year. That contrasts with global light vehicle production, which expanded by about 4% over the same period.
On a policy front, CEO Mary Barra publicly criticized Canada's agreement to allow low-cost Chinese electric vehicles into that market, calling the move a "slippery slope" that could endanger North American auto manufacturing. The pact establishes a new low tariff rate for Chinese EVs entering Canada.
These developments - elevated EPS expectations, mixed revenue performance, and evolving policy risks - frame the current analyst landscape for General Motors. Piper Sandler's target raise reflects confidence in GM's earnings power under conservative margin assumptions, while peer firms' higher targets underscore varied optimism about the company's near-term guidance and EBIT trajectory.