General Motors (GM) on Tuesday morning reported first quarter profits that topped estimates and raised its full-year forecast as the company’s tariff exposure decreased more than expected.
GM posted Q1 revenue of $43.62 billion, against an estimated $43.68 billion, down slightly from the $44 billion reported a year ago. The company reported Q1 adjusted earnings per share of $3.70 against $2.62 expected and $2.78 a year ago. Its adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) came in at $4.253 billion, up 22% compared to a year ago.
GM also raised its full-year 2026 EBIT adjusted guidance due to a favorable adjustment of approximately $500 million resulting from the Supreme Court decision nullifying some of President Trump’s tariffs. The tariff adjustment also improved its North America region margins.
For the full year, GM now expects:
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Adjusted EBIT of $13.5 billion-$15.5 billion (prior $13 billion-$15 billion)
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Adjusted earnings per share of $11.50-$13.50 (prior $11 – $13)
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Adjusted automotive free cash flow of $9 billion-$11 billion (unchanged)
Its gross tariff costs for the year are expected to fall in a range of $2.5 billion-$3.5 billion, down from a prior $3 billion-$4 billion forecast. GM reported $3.1 billion in tariff expense last year.
“We had strong cash flow in the quarter as a result of really the underlying performance that we saw on the cost side of the equation, not just from tariffs, but when you look at warranty savings that we had year over year, some environmental regulation savings, EV profitability improvement,” GM CFO Paul Jacobson said to Yahoo Finance in an interview. “All of these pillars that we talked about coming into 2026, we’re starting off the year right in terms of achieving some of those objectives.“
GM also took a hit from rising energy prices due to the US-Israel war with Iran, but the company is trying to effectively manage that exposure.
“We are calling out about $500 million of cost pressure that we’ve seen, primarily resulting from higher energy prices attributable likely to the conflict in Iran. But I think with the performance that we’ve seen in the quarter so far, we’re able to absorb that,” Jacobson said.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
GM previously said it plans to invest $10 billion-$12 billion annually in 2026 and 2027, including roughly $5 billion to expand US manufacturing capacity, in order to lift domestic production to 2 million units a year.
Earlier this month, GM said Q1 US sales fell 9.7% from a year ago to 626,429 vehicles, though the automaker held on to its US sales crown thanks to a strong March, which helped claw back ground lost during a winter-storm-disrupted January and February.
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