Late last week, General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced that it would start returning cash to shareholders for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. GM's board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, with the first payment scheduled for next month. More significantly, it topped up the company's dormant share repurchase authorization to $5 billion.

Despite maintaining a strong earnings outlook for 2022, GM stock has struggled this year. By resuming share repurchases in a meaningful way, General Motors will be able to capitalize on volatility in its share price to unlock even more upside for long-term investors. Let's take a look.

In April 2020, General Motors suspended its dividend and its share repurchase program to conserve cash. The company had little choice, as it burned through $9.9 billion of cash in the first half of 2020 due to pandemic-related factory shutdowns and massive working capital headwinds.

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Source Fool.com