General Motors Co. expects about $500 million in refunds for import taxes paid last year because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike a pillar of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policies.
The Detroit automaker reported its projected refund Tuesday along with its profits from the first three months of the year.
The automaker’s profits were roughly the same as the first three months of 2025, despite a 10% drop in sales compared to the same period last year. The company beat Wall Street expectations.
“This continues to be a ‘Rocky Balboa-like comeback’ for GM in motion,” Wedbush analysts wrote Tuesday.
The company is citing the range of its vehicle lineup spanning both luxury offerings and models under $30,000 as helping it navigate higher gas prices and other headwinds this year.
“We have solid momentum in our core operations,” GM CEO Mary Barra wrote in a letter to shareholders. “We maintained overall sales leadership in the U.S. and Canada. We led the U.S. industry in full-size pickup sales and share, with 42% of the market, and we were #1 in Fleet, including Commercial deliveries. In addition, we were #2 in EVs with growing market share, and #1 in Canada.
“Complementing our performance in North America was our 6th consecutive profitable quarter in China, and higher year-over-year results in GMI, excluding China. Looking forward, we remain focused on delivering 8–10% North America margins this year.
“Our EBIT-adjusted of $4.3 billion surpassed our expectations even after excluding a $500 million tariff adjustment following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.”
GM has not yet received a tariff refund but chose to notify investors early. Last year, GM paid about $3 billion in import taxes.
While most tariffs on autos and auto parts were not impacted by the Supreme Court’s February decision, GM and other companies are seeking refunds for raw materials needed to make car parts and other supplies that justices found were illegally taxed.
GM also Tuesday reported about $1.1 billion in payments to suppliers and other contractors that had been promised more work to support electric vehicles before the automaker scaled back production.
GM, along with other automakers, had planned for greater interest in EVs among U.S. drivers and was coping with government policies such as strict tailpipe emissions limits and incentives for EV buyers and lessees. After government policies supporting EVs were pulled under Trump, consumer demand has not kept up to optimistic expectations for growth in battery powered vehicles.
Competitors Ford Motor Co. and Jeep maker Stellantis NV will report their first-quarter profits later this week. It’s unclear whether those automakers will also signal possible tariff refunds because of the Supreme Court decision.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: GM cites expected tariff refunds for improved profit outlook
Reporting by Summer Ballentine, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
