Increased US import tariffs and billions in charges due to falling demand for electric cars depressed profits at General Motors last year. Adjusted operating profit fell by almost 15 percent to $12.7 billion in 2025 compared to the previous year, and sales fell by 1.3 percent to $185 billion. The bottom line was a profit of $2.7 billion – less than half as much as a year earlier. The return on sales fell by one percentage point to 6.9 percent, as the largest US car manufacturer announced on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, GM CEO Mary Barra (64) managed to keep shareholders happy on Tuesday and temporarily drove up the share price by more than 9 percent: Volkswagen’s rival wants to spend up to 6 billion US dollars to buy back its own shares in addition to a quarterly dividend increased by 20 percent to 18 cents per share, as the company announced on Tuesday in Detroit.
The sharply increased tariffs under US President Donald Trump, for example on imported vehicles from Mexico, cost GM around three billion dollars. The topic of electromobility had a negative impact of six billion dollars due to falling demand USA and compensation to suppliers from whom GM no longer accepted the ordered parts.
Nevertheless, with a slight increase in global sales to 6.2 million vehicles and good sales of pickup trucks and SUVs in the USA, GM generated around ten billion dollars in available funds, the same as in the previous year. In China The Americans were able to defend their market share of seven percent, while their German rival Volkswagen lost more than one percentage point to eleven percent. GM ended the year in China with a profit of $600 million. Thanks to the stable cash flow, GM boss Mary Barra announced an increasing dividend and further share buybacks totaling six billion dollars. This boosted the share price premarket.
For the current year, Barra is targeting higher profits in the range of 13 to 15 billion dollars, which corresponds to a margin target of eight to ten percent. Sales of combustion vehicles in the main market of North America are expected to increase slightly. Losses with electromobility are expected to be lower after production capacities are reduced. GM expects to save up to $750 million from the Trump administration’s weakening of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions standards. However, the GM boss confirmed to CNBC that she would continue to pursue electric cars as a long-term goal and work on lower costs.