General Motors profit revenue drops but it maintains lowered full year outlook

Detroit, Jul 22 (AP) General Motors' profit and revenue declined in its second-quarter but the automaker easily topped expectations and the company stuck by its full-year financial outlook that it lowered in May.
     GM CEO Mary Barra also said in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday that the automaker is attempting to “greatly reduce our tariff exposure”, citing USD 4 billion of new investment in its US assembly plants.
     "In addition to our strong underlying operating performance, we are positioning the business for a profitable, long-term future as we adapt to new trade and tax policies, and a rapidly evolving tech landscape," she said.
     For the three months ended June 30, GM earned USD 1.89 billion, or USD 1.91 per share. A year earlier the company earned USD 2.93 billion, or USD 2.55 per share.
     Stripping out certain items, earnings were USD 2.53 per share. That handily beat the USD 2.34 per share analysts polled by FactSet were calling for.
     Revenue declined to USD 47.12 billion from USD 47.97 billion, but still topped Wall Street's estimate of USD 45.84 billion.
     Shares still declined 3 per cent before the opening bell Tuesday.
     Barra remains optimistic about the electric vehicle market.
     “Despite slower EV industry growth, we believe the long-term future is profitable electric vehicle production, and this continues to be our north star,” she wrote. “As we adjust to changing demand, we will prioritize our customers, brands, and a flexible manufacturing footprint, and leverage our domestic battery investments and other profit-improvement plans.”
     The company maintained its full-year financial forecast. In May General Motors lowered its profit expectations for the year as the carmaker braced for a potential impact from auto tariffs as high as USD 5 billion in 2025.
     The Detroit automaker said at the time that it anticipated full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes in a range of USD 10 billion to USD 12.5 billion. The guidance includes a current tariff exposure of USD 4 billion to USD 5 billion.
     A month later GM announced plans to invest USD 4 billion to shift some production from Mexico to US manufacturing plants. The company said at the time that the investment would be made over the next two years and was for its gas and electric vehicles.
     President Donald Trump signed executive orders in April to relax some of his 25 per cent tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, a significant reversal as the import taxes threatened to hurt domestic manufacturers.
     Automakers and independent analyses have indicated that the tariffs could raise prices, reduce sales and make US production less competitive worldwide. Trump portrayed the changes as a bridge toward automakers moving more production into the United States.
     The tariffs ordered by Trump are hitting the entire auto sector, which sends vehicles and parts across the northern and southern borders of the US repeatedly as they are assembled.
     The Centre for Automative Research says that a uniform 25 per cent tariff on all trading partners would have an increased cost of USD 107.7 billion to all US automakers and an increased cost of USD 41.9 billion for the Big Three automakers in Detroit, Stellantis, GM and Ford.
     GM reported its financial results a day after Jeep maker Stellantis said that its preliminary estimates show a 2.3 billion euros (USD 2.68 billion) net loss in the first half of the year due to US tariffs and some hefty charges. Stellantis will release its financial results for the first half of the year on July 29. (AP) SKS SCY
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)