GMC trucks are displayed at Hanlees Hilltop GMC in Richmond, California, on Jan. 28, 2025.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
DETROIT — General Motors is set to report its first-quarter earnings before the bell Tuesday, but investors are more likely to focus on the automaker’s 2025 guidance than on quarterly results amid President Donald Trump’s ongoing auto tariffs.
The tariffs, including 25% levies on imported vehicles, has created growing uncertainty for the automotive industry. The instability has caused Wall Street analysts to downgrade many automotive stocks, including GM.
The Detroit automaker has not publicly announced any significant changes to its manufacturing plans, but it has been making some adjustments to its North American production due to the tariffs as well as other factors.
Even with uncertainty in the long term, several Wall Street analysts expect GM to beat first-quarter estimates as consumers rushed to purchase vehicles ahead of potential price increases due to the tariffs.
Here is what Wall Street is expecting, according to average estimates compiled by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $2.74 adjustedRevenue: $43.05 billion
Those results would mark a 0.1% increase in revenue compared with a year earlier and a 4.6% uptick in adjusted earnings per share. GM’s first quarter of 2024 included $43.01 billion in revenue, net income attributable to stockholders of $2.98 billion, and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $3.87 billion.
GM has regularly raised its annual guidance when reporting its first-quarter earnings in recent years, but it’s unclear how much the automaker can manage increased costs due to the tariffs.
GM CEO Mary Barra in February said the company believed it could mitigate up to 50% of then-potential tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, but the company has yet to provide further information since sector tariffs were implemented.
The current 25% auto tariffs include Canada and Mexico, as well as other countries GM imports vehicles from, specifically South Korea.
The company’s 2025 guidance, which it issued in January, includes net income attributable to stockholders of $11.2 billion to $12.5 billion, or $11 to $12 in earnings per share; adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $13.7 billion to $15.7 billion, or $11 to $12 adjusted EPS; and adjusted automotive free cash flow between $11 billion and $13 billion.
Deutsche Bank, UBS, Barclays and Bernstein are among the downgrades to GM’s stock since the 25% auto tariffs took effect April 3.
GM’s stock remains rated overweight with a price target of $53.91 a share, according to average estimates compiled by FactSet.
This is developing news. Please check back for additional updates.
