By Michelle Chapman
General Motors recorded strong financial results in the first quarter Tuesday, but said it would reasses 2025 expectations due to car rates.
Automakers are pushing back calls through Thursday to discuss guidance and quarterly results so they can assess potential tariff changes.
GM said its full-year financial forecast does not consider the potential impact of tariffs. In January, the company announced it was forecasting adjusted revenue for 2025, ranging from $11 to $12 per share.
Late Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump could dial back car rates. Anonymous sources claim that he insists on halting duties for foreign cars over other duties he has implemented and mitigating the collection of foreign parts used to make cars in the US
White House press chief Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday morning that Trump would sign an executive order to ease some of the tariffs on cars and auto parts, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said automakers can now create more domestic manufacturing jobs.
Bescent added that Trump is interested in “past future work.”
It remains unclear how Trump’s broader tariffs will affect the US economy and car sales. Most economists say tariffs that could ultimately reach most imports could raise prices, slow economic growth and undermine car sales despite the easing the administration is trying to provide in previous policies.
Trump will hold a rally in Michigan, the heart of the country’s automotive industry on Tuesday. Michigan has been shaken by his sudden trade tariffs and militant attitude towards Canada.
Trump is visiting Selfridges Air National Guard base in the afternoon for an announcement along with Democrat Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He is expected to speak at a meeting at Macomb Community College, north of Detroit.
Michigan was one of the battlefield states that Trump turned over from a Democrat column in his election. However, it is also deeply affected by tariffs on imported cars and auto parts.
Michigan’s unemployment rate has risen for the third consecutive month, according to state data. It is the highest in the nation, well above the national average of 4.2%.
Industry groups have urged the White House to abolish tariff plans on imported auto parts, warning that doing so could raise car prices and lead to “layoffs and bankruptcy.”
General Motors won $2.788 billion ($3.35 per share) for the three months ended March 31st. It won $2.98 billion the previous year, or $2.56 per share.
Deleting one-off fees and benefits, GM scored $2.78 per share, exceeding the $2.68 per share, which Wall Street had expected, according to a Factset study.
Revenues rose from $430.1 billion to $44.02 billion.
GM’s stock fell by about 2% in morning trading.
Original issue: April 29, 2025, 1:29pm
