General Motors (GM) earnings Q1 2026

DETROIT — General Motors raised its 2026 guidance after significantly beating Wall Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations following a roughly $500 million benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court decision to terminate and refund certain levies paid under President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.

Here’s how the company performed in the first quarter, compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $3.70 adjusted vs. $2.62 expected
• Revenue: $43.62 billion vs. $43.68 billion expected

Shares of GM closed Tuesday at $78.95 per share, up 1.3%. The stock is off 2.9% in 2026, following a roughly 53% increase last year.

GM’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff benefit was largely expected by Wall Street analysts, but the exact amount it would receive was unknown. It is part of $160 billion in potential refunds expected to be returned to companies after the levies were ruled illegal in February by the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision.  

The automaker has not received IEEPA refunds yet, but expects to and decided to book it during the first quarter. Trump last week told CNBC that he would gratefully “remember” U.S. companies that do not seek refunds for the tariffs.

Excluding the IEEPA tariffs, GM still expects gross tariff costs of $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion from other levies this year, down from the original estimate of $3 billion to $4 billion.

The Detroit automaker raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to reflect the tariff rebate to between $13.5 billion and $15.5 billion, or $11.50 to $13.50 a share, up $500 million, or 50 cents per share, from its previous expectations.

Due to special charges, the company lowered its net income attributable to stockholders forecast for the year to $9.9 billion to $11.4 billion, down from $10.3 billion to $11.7 billion, and automotive operating cash flow to between $16.8 billion and $20.8 billion, down from between $19 billion and $23 billion.

The company booked $1.1 billion in special charges related to its pullback in all-electric vehicles as it negotiates and pays suppliers. That adds to $7.6 billion in special charges related to EVs for its 2025 results.

The charges impact GM’s net income but not adjusted results. Automakers commonly exclude “special items” or one-time charges from their adjusted financial results to provide investors with a clearer picture of their core, ongoing business operations.

Excluding one-time charges, the automaker earned $3.70 a share.

GM CFO Paul Jacobson on Tuesday told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau that the company did not raise its automotive free cash flow guidance of between $9 billion and $11 billion due to uncertainty about the tariff refund process and timing.

Without the tariff adjustment, the company’s first-quarter adjusted earnings would have still beat expectations and been up about 7.5% compared with a year ago. GM CEO Mary Barra in a letter to shareholders said the quarter surpassed the company’s expectations.

“We have solid momentum in our core…