By Kalea Hall and Nathan Gomes
DETROIT (Reuters) -General Motors on Tuesday pulled its annual forecast, in a move that reflects the uncertain effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war, even as the company reported strong quarterly results.
In an unusual move, the automaker pushed its investor call to Thursday as it wanted to wait before commenting on changes to tariff policy. Trump on Tuesday is set to soften the impact of auto tariffs through an executive order after automakers pressed their case with the administration, officials said. GM’s shares fell nearly 1% Tuesday.
The company in January forecast net income between $11.2 billion and $12.5 billion for 2025, which did not include the impact of automotive tariffs.
Trump’s vacillating tariff policy has caused uncertainty in the auto sector, with analysts estimating that new car prices could rise by thousands of dollars.
“The future impact of tariffs could be significant,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said on a call with the media. “We’re telling folks not to rely on the prior guidance, and we’ll update when we have more information around tariffs.”
The automaker’s costs were up $400 million from a year ago owing to higher labor and warranty expenses, Jacobson said, even though “the underlying business is still performing pretty well”.
GM’s quarterly results were partly hurt by fewer wholesale deliveries of the profitable full-size pickups and SUVs because of several weeks of downtime at assembly plants for upgrades and a January supplier fire, Jacobson said.
The company is pausing its share buyback activity, pending more clarity on the economic situation. It had in February decided to repurchase $2 billion of shares by the first half of this year.
“The banks are still closing that out … they’ll finish that in the second quarter,” Jacobson said.
Evercore ISI analyst Chris McNally backed GM’s move to pull its annual guidance as the tariff uncertainty looms, while CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said news related to tariff modification could buffer potential losses.
GM revenue rose 2.3% to $44 billion in the first quarter, boosted by customers rushing to buy before prices rise, surpassing expectations of $43 billion. Adjusted earnings per share of $2.78 beat estimates of $2.74. Net income fell 6.6% to $2.8 billion.
Trump’s 25% auto tariffs imposed in early April are projected to increase costs by about $108 billion for automakers in the U.S. this year, according to a recent study from the Center for Automotive Research.
The Trump administration will reduce the effects of auto tariffs on Tuesday by alleviating some of the levies on foreign parts in U.S.-made vehicles and keeping tariffs from stacking on imported vehicles.
RISE IN US AUTO SALES
Numerous blue-chip companies have pulled their guidance for the year in response to tariff uncertainty.
Consumer confidence has weakened since mid-February, when Trump ramped up his threats of levies on most foreign imports. Tesla last week did not give guidance, promising to revisit the issue in its next quarterly results.
“Longer-term, GM has opportunities to grow sales with its trucks and SUVs and through the expansion of its commercial business,” Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said in a note.
In China, where GM is restructuring its business, the automaker saw some relief with equity income at $45 million, up from a first-quarter 2024 loss of $106 million.
GM’s positive results come after the automaker reported a rise of about 17% in U.S. auto sales in the first quarter.
The tariffs have seemed to push some customers to make purchases with automakers such as Ford Motor and Stellantis, maker of Ram trucks and Jeeps, offering deeper discounts.
“The industry undoubtedly benefited from some pull-ahead demand from customers purchasing vehicles ahead of potential tariffs, particularly in March,” Jacobson said.
“However, this strong demand environment has continued into April, where we have seen U.S. deliveries up more than 20% versus last year.”
GM has moved to increase truck output at an Indiana plant. It will discuss other measures to mitigate the effects of tariffs on a Thursday morning analyst call.
“We have not made any specific decisions about any major strategic changes until we get more clarity,” Jacobson said on the tariffs, adding GM is “focused on actions that we can implement quickly, efficiently and with low near-term costs”.
Barclays in mid-April cut its 2025 GM earnings before interest and taxes estimates by 40% based on lower volume and the gross tariff impact of about $9.5 billion, since the automaker makes just under half of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. outside of the country.
GM shares have lost 12% this year, trailing its primary rival Ford, which has gained about 3%.
(Reporting by Kalea Hall; Additional reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Saad Sayeed, Arun Koyyur and Aurora Ellis)
