To say that the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the stock market is “significant” might be characterized by some as an understatement. In the case of General Motors, GM share values have fallen by nearly 60 percent in roughly the past month. To clarify, GM stock was already on a slight decline in 2020 before the coronavirus reached current levels, and the recent free-fall in value exacerbates the lull.
For instance, GM stock value was $35.29 when the market closed on February 20th. Using that as the reference point along with today’s low of $14.32, values have since dropped 59.4 percent. Again, the only immediate cause for the drastic decline is the coronavirus outbreak and ensuing pandemic.
For context, below is a timeline illustrating all the ways that the Coronavirus pandemic has influenced GM operations:
- January 27th: GM Imposes Employee Travel Restrictions
- February 7th: General Motors Chinese Venture Making Masks
- February 11th: Buick Encore GX, Chevrolet Trailblazer Production Halted In South Korea
- February 14th: Concern Grows Over GM’s Truck Business
- February 15th: GM China Resumes Production
- February 28th:
- March 6th: SAIC-GM Sales Plunge 92 Percent
- March 9th:
- March 12th: Projections Show 9 Percent Dip In U.S. Auto Sales
- March 13th: GM Asks Employees To Work From Home
- March 16th:
- March 17th:
- March 18th:
- March 19th:
- March 20th:
While analyses from major firms indicate that the stock market will continue to see values slip before making a full recovery, no one is quite sure when that recovery will begin, or how long it may take. That said, GM is by no means the only automaker or company to see massive declines in stock values, as shares of many other firms – from Ford to Toyota and Tesla, and from Apple to Google – have seen similar behavior.
We’ll keep on our eyes peeled and ears to the ground while and report back with new developments, so be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for the latest updates on how the Coronavirus pandemic is impacting The General, as well as more GM stock news and more General Motors news coverage.
Comments
They should wether fine, what killed GM last time was too much debt. The well-heeled, government and those who protect / work for them will always have money even if it’s inflated.
Ford IMO probably would penny-stock or delist and go private for a while but like GM as long as they don’t have debt and have wealthy buyers they’ll live.
FCA is the big question, we now know PSA will be absorbed by FCA maybe if American arm is propping Europe along with 0 interest rates in the US we might see an Michigan headquartered FCA but if that debt is high with no cash in hand and no credit to lend, they’ll be headquartered in history books with GM, Ford and a startup having the leftovers because the Chinese/Koreans can’t buy anything either soon.
A lot of the price of GM’s stock was the result of buybacks over the past few years that artificially kept the price high. For better or worse, this Cornoavirus will be a game changer. The ride sharing and to extent AV movement will be hit hard because people moving forward will be weary of sharing close quarters with strangers, especially in a vehicle that will get used numerous times a day without cleaning. The “all-electric” future may have to be reevaluated especially with gas projected to track below $1 a gallon soon. Finally, the China economic miracle is coming to an end. I foresee China being hit hard economically from this pandemic, and jobs being moved out of China back to where they came from.