So far, it appears that U.S. businesses and consumers are bearing the brunt of former President Donald Trump's tariff policies. General Motors (GM) is the latest company to reveal how tariffs have inflated operational costs. On Tuesday, GM announced that tariff-related expenses have cut more than $1 billion from its profits, as the company chose to absorb the additional costs rather than pass them onto consumers.
This may explain why auto prices remained flat in last week’s inflation data, even as prices for commonly imported goods like toys and home appliances surged—suggesting that in many cases, tariff costs are being passed on to end consumers.
Despite reporting adjusted earnings per share of $2.53, slightly above the Bloomberg consensus of $2.33, GM’s earnings still fell short of the $3.06 it reported in the same period last year. The company has yet to outline any concrete strategy to recover the profit margins lost since the tariffs took effect.
