GM’s first quarter in 2025 was a shock to its books.
In a statement released on April 29, the storied Detroit-based automaker General Motors announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. It also noted that it will release updated 2025 full-year guidance to account for the potential impact of tariffs on the automaker’s bottom line.
As far as the numbers, GM reported a 6.6% decline in its first quarter net income, falling by roughly $196 million to about $2.78 billion. At the same time, its revenue grew 2.3% from $42.01 to $44.02 billion while adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by 9.8% to $3.49 billion. Specifically in North America, its pretax profit decreased by 14% to $3.3 billion, even though Trump’s tariffs had nothing to do with it.
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Trump’s tariff fiasco is making GM reconsider its outlook.
Despite the slightly positive numbers released by GM, much of the attention on its April 29 earnings release was due to the fact that it moved its earnings call from 8:30 a.m. on the 29th to the same time on May 1. Typically, the earnings call is the conference call where analysts from investment banks and firms like J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Barclays, etc. dial in and ask executives more pointed and specific questions about certain numbers and plans for the future.
Previously, in January, GM released 2025 guidance that did not account for the scenario where tariffs would be levied. This included net income attributable to stockholders in the range of $11.2 billion to $12.5 billion, or $11 to $12 in earnings per share for those holding GM stock. In addition, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were expected to be in the area of $13.7 billion to $15.7 billion, and adjusted automotive free cash flow between $11 billion and $13 billion.
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In a media call with reporters, GM CFO Paul Jacobson noted that they need a second look to give more accurate numbers.
“We believe the future impacts of tariffs could be significant, so we are reassessing our guidance and look forward to sharing more when we have greater clarity,” Jacobson said during the call. “The prior guidance can’t be relied upon, and we’ll come back to the market with clarity as soon as we have it.”
CNBC reports that GM declined to say if it was fully taking back its own 2025 guidance, rather calling it “unreliable” until it has a better picture of the current economic and regulatory conditions it is playing in. At the same time, Jacobson did not say how much the current tariffs are affecting the automaker and did not elaborate on any actions that GM took to avoid additional costs.
Final thoughts
I feel that General Motors’ hesitation to announce its numbers to analysts overshadows today’s financial results. In a note published by Bank of America analysts this morning, they note that “General Motors commentary will be of particular interest since it can be seen as a proxy for other traditional OEMs in the US, and consequently it may be possible to draw more assumptions on how to think about suppliers and dealers.”
Personally, I think we will not get a clearer vision of how different sides of the American auto industry are adapting until Ford Motor Company issues its earnings sometime in early May.