General Motors to Move Listing from NYSE to Nasdaq Amid AI and EV Push

General Motors plans to transfer its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq as GM accelerates autonomous-vehicle development and AI-powered manufacturing. GM expects its shares to remain on the NYSE through the market close on November 16. GM expects its common stock to start trading on Nasdaq the next day without changing the trading symbol. Chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said on Tuesday that GM's customer-focused, technology-driven strategy creates shareholder value and makes Nasdaq an appropriate exchange for GM.

Detroit-based GM last week announced plans for a new generation of electric and software-defined vehicles, using large data sets and machine learning to shorten development. Sterling Anderson said last week that the autonomous vehicles under development would enable GM to surpass global competitors, including competitors from China. Chief executive Mary Barra recruited Anderson, a Tesla veteran, last year to lead GM's technology initiative. Anderson also founded autonomous-driving startup Aurora Innovation and is widely considered a likely successor to Barra. Anderson is leading work to halve GM's current four-to-five-year product development cycle using data from GM's extensive manufacturing operations.

Software subscriptions account for an increasingly important share of revenue for vehicle manufacturers. GM reported last week that OnStar subscription revenue exceeded $800 million in the third quarter, a 15% increase from a year earlier. GM also reported that revenue from the SuperCruise driver-assistance programme increased 60% year on year. Anderson's approach reflects large US companies' substantial investment in physical AI, the use of artificial intelligence in large-scale manufacturing. Nvidia founder Jensen Huang has pursued multiple partnerships with robotics and industrial businesses. Combining digital and physical technologies also underlies Elon Musk's transformation of Tesla and the proposed merger of Tesla with SpaceX.

GM ranks first among US vehicle manufacturers by sales. GM returned to the NYSE in 2010 after bankruptcy following the global financial crisis. GM has a market capitalisation of $64 billion, compared with Tesla's $1.55 trillion. GM shares gained 4% in early morning trading.

The planned departure further weakens the NYSE's prestige as the exchange seeks to preserve its standing as the venue for America's largest blue-chip companies. The NYSE has lost market share in recent years to Nasdaq and new exchanges in Texas. Walmart last year became the largest company by market capitalisation to transfer its listing from the NYSE to Nasdaq. Walmart cited compatibility with Nasdaq's technology-oriented approach as the reason for the transfer.

Nasdaq changed the rules for its flagship Nasdaq 100 index this year, introducing a 15-day accelerated entry route for megacap initial public offerings. Megacap IPO candidates previously faced waits of up to a year. Nasdaq 100 membership enables companies to attract billions of dollars from passive investment funds. Nasdaq also eliminated a requirement for the public to be offered at least 10% of a company's shares. Critics suggest that accelerated index admission for newly listed companies could distort price discovery after an IPO. However, Nasdaq's changes appear to have succeeded in attracting listings.

SpaceX chose Nasdaq in June for the largest initial public offering on record. AI startup Anthropic, valued at about $1 trillion, is scheduled to list on Nasdaq later this year. The high-profile listings reinforce Nasdaq's position as an exchange for technology-oriented companies.