General Motors or Tesla: which stock is cheaper in 2026?
As of October 5, 2026, General Motors (GM) trades at 39.5× earnings (P/E) and Tesla (TSLA) at 343×, according to Kaplio. The median across the 202 consumer cyclicals companies above $2bn in Kaplio's universe is 18.0×. A caveat on General Motors: its earnings over the last twelve months are far from what the consensus expects, so its current P/E is not representative.
According to the Kaplio Summary
The same verdict as each company's page: price range by multiples, the four lights, the expected return if consensus is right and what Buffett and Lynch would say today.
| General Motors (GM) | Tesla (TSLA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Summary valuation | no verdict ($94–$273) | expensive ($20) |
| The four lights | Valuation: P/E 39.5× (no verdict) Business: 5-year ROIC 3.4 % (weak) Balance sheet: Net debt/EBITDA 5.9× (fragile) Results: 8 of 8 (on track) | Valuation: P/E 343.1× (expensive) Business: 5-year ROIC 10.9 % (fair) Balance sheet: Net debt/EBITDA −0.7× (solid) Results: 4 of 8 (uneven) |
| Expected return (per year) | +5.3 % a year (to 2028) | — |
| Buffett method | outside his circle | outside his circle |
| Lynch method | cyclical · approves | outside his circle |
Metrics side by side
| Metric | General Motors (GM) | Tesla (TSLA) |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Market Cap | $70.8B | $1.5T |
| Price | $78.27 | $370.59 |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 39.5× | 343× |
| P/B | 1.2× | 14.1× |
| P/S | 0.4× | 14.4× |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.6× | 121× |
| FCF Yield | 22.7 % | 0.4 % |
| Dividend Yield | 0.9 % | 0.0 % |
| Profitability | ||
| ROIC | 0.8 % | 3.0 % |
| ROE | 3.0 % | 4.6 % |
| Gross Margin | 5.7 % | 18.9 % |
| Operating Margin | 1.0 % | 4.2 % |
| Net Margin | 1.0 % | 3.7 % |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue 5Y CAGR | 8.6 % | 24.6 % |
| EPS 5Y CAGR | -5.2 % | 36.4 % |
| FCF 5Y CAGR | — | 18.2 % |
| Balance Sheet | ||
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 5.9× | -0.7× |
| Debt / Equity | 2.1× | 0.1× |
Trailing twelve months where available; otherwise the latest fiscal year. Growth: five-year compound annual rate.