Tariffs slash GM profits, but strong truck and SUV sales cushion the blow

General Motors’ (GM.N) second-quarter earnings took a $1.1 billion hit from tariffs, but the automaker still beat analyst expectations for the period, supported by strong sales of its core gasoline trucks and SUVs.

The largest US automaker by sales said it expects the tariff impact to worsen in the third quarter and stuck to a previous estimate that trade headwinds threaten to hit the bottom line by $4 billion to $5 billion. GM said it could take steps to mitigate at least 30 per cent of that impact. Shares fell about 6 per cent in early trading.

The automaker’s revenue in the quarter ended June 30 fell nearly 2 per cent to about $47 billion from a year ago. Its quarterly adjusted earnings per share fell to $2.53 compared with $3.06 a year earlier. Analysts on average expected adjusted profit of $2.44 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 32 per cent to $3 billion.

GM was among corporations that revised annual guidance due to the impact from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, lowering it to an annual adjusted core profit of between $10 billion and $12.5 billion. The company on July 22 stood by that forecast.

Beyond tariffs, GM’s underlying business in the quarter was solid. Sales in the US market – its main profit center – rose 7 per cent, while the company continued to command strong pricing on its pickup trucks and SUVs. GM swung back to a small profit in China, after losing money there a year earlier.

Analysts said GM may need to cut investment in future projects or find other ways to trim spending to offset the effect of tariffs.

Jeep-maker Stellantis (STLAM.MI) on Monday warned that tariffs would significantly affect results in the second half of 2025, and said tariffs cost it about 300 million euros in the first half of the year. Shares of rival Ford Motor (F.N), and US-traded shares of Stellantis fell about 1 per cent Tuesday morning.

The automaker took several steps in recent months to bolster its combustion-engine operations through increased investment in its US factory base, calling into question its goal of ending the production of gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035.

“Despite slower EV industry growth, we believe the long-term future is profitable electric vehicle production, and this continues to be our North Star,” GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts Tuesday.

GM announced in June that it would invest $4 billion at three US facilities in Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee, including a plan to move production of the Cadillac Escalade and increase output of its two big pickup trucks. It added production of its previously Mexico-produced Chevy Blazer to the Tennessee plant. The automaker imports about half of the vehicles it sells in the US, mainly from Mexico and South Korea. Crosstown rival Ford produces about 80 per cent of its US-sold vehicles domestically. Ford is expected to report second-quarter results next week

Car companies are increasingly shifting their focus to bolstering the core lineup of gas trucks and SUVs, as the growth rate of EV sales has slowed. Demand for battery-powered models already has slowed after rapid growth earlier this decade.

The trend is intensified by the pending disappearance of government support for the battery-powered models. Sweeping tax and budget legislation approved by Congress will eliminate $7,500 tax credits for buying or leasing new electric vehicles and a $4,000 used-EV credit at the end of September. Trump also signed tax and budget legislation that eliminates fines for failures to meet fuel economy rules, a move that makes it easier to build more gas-powered vehicles.