Ford, GM, and Stellantis reported hundreds of millions to more than $1 billion in expected reimbursements from the federal government.
Major automakers are reporting stronger quarterly profits after they booked potential refunds from tariffs that were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ford Motor said on Tuesday that it earned $2.5 billion in the first quarter, up from $500 million a year earlier, on revenue of $43.3 billion, a 6 percent increase from the same period last year. The result reflects the $1.3 billion in tariff reimbursements the company expects to receive.
According to Ford CFO Sherry House, the refunds are tied to import duties the company paid between March 2025 and February 2026 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In February, the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded the IEEPA’s authority when he imposed tariffs aimed at rebalancing the United States’ trade relations with the rest of the world.
The Detroit-based automaker raised its full-year earnings outlook by $500 million, although the new guidance does not include the anticipated IEEPA refund.
“We don’t have certainty as to when that is going to come in,” House told investors in an earnings call. “So we did not put that in the guidance at this time.”
Ford’s crosstown rival, General Motors, also said on Tuesday it expects to receive $500 million in tariff refunds. The company has not yet received the money, but it still put it on the books for the first quarter.
GM reported first-quarter net income of $2.63 billion, down 5.7 percent from a year earlier. Despite that, the company raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to between $13.5 billion and $15.5 billion, an increase of $500 million from its previous outlook, to reflect the expected tariff rebate.
Rising material and logistics costs tied to the Iran War, however, prevented GM from raising its outlook further. The automaker increased its projected commodity and freight inflation costs to between $1.5 billion and $2 billion this year, effectively canceling out the benefit of the tariff reimbursement.
By Bill Pan
