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GM Rally Fuels Premarket Gains as Crown, Zions Also Climb

General Motors leapt 10.5% in premarket trading after a stronger-than-expected quarter and an upward revision to full-year earnings guidance, highlighting renewed investor optimism about corporate profitability. Several other stocks, including Crown Holdings and regional bank Zions Bancorp, also moved higher after earnings beats or reports, underscoring market sensitivity to outsized quarterly surprises.

Sarah Chen3 min read
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GM Rally Fuels Premarket Gains as Crown, Zions Also Climb
GM Rally Fuels Premarket Gains as Crown, Zions Also Climb

General Motors led early market action Tuesday, jumping 10.5% in premarket trading after the Detroit automaker reported an adjusted third-quarter profit and raised its full-year outlook. GM posted adjusted earnings of $2.80 per share for the quarter, beating the $2.31 consensus from analysts polled by LSEG, and reported revenue of $48.59 billion versus the $45.27 billion estimate. Management lifted its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $9.75 to $10.50, up from prior guidance, a move that prompted a strong and immediate re-pricing of the stock.

The scale of GM’s beat—$0.49 per share above expectations and roughly $3.32 billion of revenue outperformance—signals more than a single-quarter surprise. Markets interpreted the numbers as evidence that demand and pricing are holding sufficiently to support margin expansion, even as automakers face cyclical headwinds and ongoing capital investments. The guidance raise is notable for investors because it narrows uncertainty around cash generation for the year and bolsters forecasts for free cash flow and shareholder returns heading into 2026.

Crown Holdings was another major mover, rising about 8% after reporting third-quarter results that outperformed expectations. The manufacturer of metal packaging products earned an adjusted $2.24 per share on revenue of $3.2 billion, topping FactSet estimates of $1.99 per share and $3.14 billion of revenue. Crown’s $0.25-per-share upside and modest revenue beat suggest resilient end-market demand for packaging and potential pricing power in a sector where input-cost pass-through matters to margins.

Regional lender Zions Bancorp climbed more than 1% following its third-quarter report, reflecting investor attention to bank fundamentals amid a high-rate environment. While the summary did not provide detailed figures for Zions, the move underscores that earnings results from regional banks continue to be scrutinized for loan growth, deposit dynamics and net interest margins, all key determinants of profitability in a tighter-rate landscape.

Other premarket movers included household names such as Coca-Cola, 3M and Philip Morris, which were cited among companies making significant early trading moves, illustrating that earnings season remains the primary catalyst for stock-level volatility.

Collectively, these early-morning swings reinforce how sharply markets react when companies deliver above- or below-consensus results. For investors and policymakers alike, the pattern of beats and guidance changes matters for broader economic reading: sustained profitability improvements can support equity valuations and capital spending, while mixed results—particularly in rate-sensitive sectors like autos and banking—could temper growth expectations. CNBC reporters Fred Imbert, Sean Conlon, Alex Harring, Sarah Min and Liz Napolitano contributed reporting on the developments.

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