General Motors posted strong financial results for its first quarter Tuesday, but says it will reassess its expectations for 2025 due to auto tariffs.
The automaker is pushing back its conference call to discuss its guidance and quarterly results until Thursday, so that it can assess potential tariff changes.
GM said that its initial full-year financial forecast doesn't contemplate the potential impact of tariffs. In January the company announced that it anticipated 2025 adjusted earnings in a range of $11 to $12 per share.
Late Monday The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump will possibly dial back automotive tariffs, with anonymous sources claiming that he’ll stop duties on foreign-made cars from piling on top of other tariffs he implemented and easing some levies on foreign parts used to make cars in the U.S.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday morning that Trump would sign an executive order relaxing some of his tariffs on cars and auto parts, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the goal remained enabling automakers to create more domestic manufacturing jobs.
Bessent added that Trump is concerned with “jobs of the future, not of the past.”
It remains unclear what impact Trump’s broader tariffs will have on the U.S. economy and auto sales. Most economists say the tariffs — which could ultimately hit most imports — would raise prices and slow economic growth, possibly hurting auto sales despite the relief that the administration intends to offer on its previous policies.
Trump will be holding a rally in Michigan, the heart of the nation's auto industry, on Tuesday. Michigan has been jolted by his steep trade tariffs and combative attitude toward Canada.
Trump is making an afternoon visit to Selfridge Air National Guard Base for an announcement alongside Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He’s expected to speak at a rally at Macomb Community College, north of Detroit.
Michigan was one of the battleground states Trump flipped from the Democratic column in his election. But it’s also been deeply affected by tariffs on imported cars and auto parts.
Michigan’s unemployment rate has risen for three straight months, including jumping 1.3% from March to reach 5.5%, according to state data. That’s among the highest in the nation, far exceeding the national average of 4.2%.
Industry groups have urged the White House to scrap plans for tariffs on imported auto parts, warning that doing so would raise prices on cars and could trigger “layoffs and bankruptcy.”
General Motors earned $2.78 billion, or $3.35 per share, for the three months ended March 31. A year earlier it earned $2.98 billion, or $2.56 per share.
Removing one-time charges and benefits, GM earned $2.78 per share, topping the $2.68 per share that Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by FactSet.
Revenue climbed to $44.02 billion from $43.01 billion.
GM’s stock declined about 2% in morning trading.
FILE - A General Motors logo is seen on a building, April 24, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
