Yahoo TV

STORY: Shares of General Motors rose on Friday after the automaker said it would reinstate its quarterly dividend for shareholders - more than two years after suspending the payouts to conserve cash amid a global health crisis.

Restoring the quarterly dividend suggested GM was past the worst risks of the crisis, which had hurt sales and - at times - shut down production, forcing the automaker to halt dividend payments in April of 2020.

The return of the dividend also signaled to investors that GM was confident it had cleared the economic turbulence of the past several months.

In a statement, CEO Mary Barra cited the expansion of electric vehicles and domestic battery manufacturing, saying "progress on these key strategic initiatives has improved our visibility and strengthened confidence in our capacity to fund growth while also returning capital to shareholders."

In July, rival Ford Motor said it was restoring its dividend, leaving investors wondering when GM would reinstate theirs.

At a rate of 9 cents per share on the company's common stock, the dividend authorized by GM's board is down sharply from the 38 cents per share when it was suspended in 2020.

The first dividend payment will be paid on Sept. 15th.