GM Is Down 12% in 74 Days. What History Says Now.

General Motors Is Down 12% in 74 Days. What History Says.

The last 3 times General Motors Company (GM) dropped by at least 50%, it took an average of 1187 days to recover. While the current decline of 12.2% has not yet reached those historic extremes, the movement represents a shift in the stock's risk profile. As of May 14, 2026, our data indicates that the stock has moved out of the green zone and into more volatile territory.

Current Drawdown and Severity Shift

As of May 14, 2026, General Motors Company (GM) is trading at $75.81. This price represents a 12.2% drawdown from its all-time high of $86.38. The stock has been in this current drawdown state for 74 days, marking a steady decline from its previous peak.

Our proprietary Drawdown Severity Score™ currently sits at 2.0. This score places GM in the yellow zone, which we categorize as Moderately Elevated risk. This is a notable shift from the previous green zone status, suggesting that the selling pressure has moved beyond a standard minor fluctuation.

The Drawdown Severity Score™ of 2.0 reflects a departure from the stock's historical norms. On average, GM experiences a max drawdown of -9.2%. The current 12.2% decline has already exceeded that historical average, placing the stock in a position where it must now contend with deeper technical resistance levels.

Historical Context and Comparable Events

To understand the current 12.2% drop, we must look at the broader history of the asset. Since we began tracking the stock, we have recorded 35 total historical drawdown events for GM. The average duration for these drawdowns is 155 days.

The current 74-day duration means this sell-off is roughly halfway through the typical time frame GM spends recovering from a peak. However, the severity is the primary concern for risk managers. When the Drawdown Severity Score™ enters the yellow zone, history shows that the recovery path often becomes less linear.

Our data shows that GM has dropped by 50% or more exactly 3 times in its history. These are the most extreme cases on record. In those 3 instances, the average duration to return to previous highs was 1187 days. We must note that this is a small sample size of 3 events, but it illustrates the potential for prolonged recovery periods when GM experiences severe structural declines.

News Drivers and Market Sentiment

The shift to a Drawdown Severity Score™ of 2.0 coincides with several fundamental shifts at the company. According to Yahoo Finance, General Motors recently initiated layoffs specifically targeting its IT workforce. This news was echoed by Seeking Alpha, which reported that the company is cutting white-collar IT jobs to streamline operations.

While workforce reductions are often seen as cost-saving measures, the market has reacted by pushing the stock further into the yellow zone. This internal restructuring comes at a time when competitors are seeing mixed results. For instance, 24/7 Wall St. reported that Ford Motor Company (F) rose 7% in a single day, leading investors to question why GM is underperforming other major domestic car stocks.

Despite the current 12.2% drawdown, some analysts remain optimistic about the company's long-term digital strategy. According to TIKR.com, Wall Street sees a mean upside of 30% as OnStar deferred revenue approaches $7.5 billion. Additionally, simplywall.st noted that the most recent soft earnings for GM are actually better than they appear on the surface when adjusting for specific one-time items.

Statistical Perspective on the Yellow Zone

When a stock like GM carries a Drawdown Severity Score™ of 2.0, it enters a specific risk tier within our database. The yellow zone indicates that the current price action is no longer "business as usual." While a 12.2% drop is not a crash, it is a statistically significant deviation from the mean drawdown of -9.2%.

In the context of the broader automotive sector, a 74-day decline is a medium-term event. It suggests that the initial momentum that drove the stock to its all-time high of $86.38 has completely dissipated. Our data shows that once a stock enters the yellow zone, the time spent in drawdown often extends as the market seeks a new valuation floor.

We track thousands of assets, and the transition from green to yellow is frequently the point where institutional risk models begin to adjust their position sizing. For GM, staying in the yellow zone for an extended period could signal a transition from a simple pullback into a more formal correction.

Managing Risk in the Current Environment

The historical data for GM provides a framework for what to expect next. If the stock follows its average drawdown duration, we might expect another 80 days of price discovery before a sustained recovery begins. However, if the current IT layoffs and competitive pressures from peers like Tesla (TSLA) or Ford intensify, the Drawdown Severity Score™ could move higher.

We provide this data so investors can see exactly where the stock stands in relation to its own history. A 12.2% drawdown is a specific data point that carries different weight for GM than it would for a high-growth tech stock or a stable utility. For GM, this level of decline is officially "moderately elevated."

Monitoring the Drawdown Severity Score™ allows for a purely objective view of the stock's health. We will continue to track whether GM can stabilize at these levels or if the drawdown will deepen toward the 15% or 20% marks, which would trigger further changes in its severity classification.