General Motors (NYSE: GM) gave shareholders something to cheer about today. Better-than-expected third-quarter results pushed the company to continue a trend that has marked its earnings reports this year.

GM boosted its guidance for 2024 cash flow as well as net income for the third consecutive quarter. That's helped drive GM shares higher by more than 50% this year. That includes today's move, which saw the stock jump by 10.4% as of 3:10 p.m. ET.

Investors focus on profits

Third-quarter sales of $48.8 billion jumped 10.5% versus the prior-year period, beating estimates by more than $4 billion. The company's widely followed operating profit, or adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, also surged past expectations. The company raised full-year guidance for that metric to a range of $14 billion to $15 billion. That's $1 billion higher on the low end than previous guidance.

So what is going so right for General Motors? On the company's conference call for investors, CEO Mary Barra told investors what they wanted to hear. GM is working hard to optimize profit margins on both traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicle (EV) products.

That work appears to be paying off as demonstrated in the positive full-year profitability adjustments. While GM is still losing money on EVs, Barra also said the company remains on track to produce and wholesale about 200,000 units in North America this year. She also said it has achieved profitability over variable costs for that product. That's a first step, though fixed costs likely remain very high.

But in the meantime, investors are cheering the success it is having with its new and redesigned ICE SUVs and other vehicles. With a price-to-earnings ratio in the single digits -- and well below that of domestic competitor Ford Motor Company -- there may be more room for the stock to run as long as GM continues to show profitable progress with its lineup.

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