Tariff turmoil prompts cloudy forecasts from General Motors, Harley-Davidson for the year ahead
NEW YORK (AP) — Uncertainty continues to hang over the latest round of financial results and forecasts for companies both big and small as they try to navigate a global trade system severely shaken by a shift in U.S. policy.
Roughly half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported their latest quarterly financial results, but the focus has been on how they will adjust to tariffs and any change in consumers' behavior. Here's a look a what companies are saying about tariffs and the potential impact:
General Motors
General Motors trimmed one of its profit measures as the carmaker braces for the potential impact from auto tariffs.
Auto companies like General Motors have operations spread out throughout North America, with auto parts and assembly steps often crossing multiple borders before a car is produced.
The company said that it expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes in a range of $10 billion to $12.5 billion. That's down from a previous range of $13.7 billion to $15.7 billion. The revised guidance includes a current tariff exposure of $4 billion to $5 billion.
President Donald Trump signed executive orders Tuesday to relax some of his 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts.
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson withdrew its financial forecast for the year because of uncertainty over tariffs and the economy.
The iconic motorcycle maker said it is focusing on productivity measures, supply chain management and cost controls to help deal with the impact from tariffs. The company gets just under 70% of its revenue from within the U.S., according to FactSet. That leaves a large chunk of its revenue exposed to retaliatory tariffs from other nations.
Hershey
Hershey reaffirmed its financial forecasts for the year, which include assessments for tariff expenses as they currently stand.
The chocolate maker estimates the current tariff expenses to range from about $15 million to $20 million in the second quarter. Hershey and other chocolate makers are already dealing with cocoa supply issues that have helped push prices higher. More than 70% of the global cocoa supply comes from West Africa and the region has been dealing with stressed and damaged crops for years.
Church & Dwight
During Elections
Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election.
Church & Dwight slashed its financial forecasts for the year as it faces the impact from tariffs and a potential slowdown in consumer spending.
The maker of Arm & Hammer and other household and personal care products now expects earnings to range from flat to 2% growth. It previously forecast earnings growth of up to 8%.
It estimated that its tariff exposure over the next 12 months is about $190 million. The company hopes to reduce that exposure by up to 80% with several measures, including no longer sourcing Waterpik flossers from China for the U.S. market. It will also potentially shut down or sell some of its brands.
___
AP writer Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
29 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
George Russell of Mercedes wins the Canadian Grand Prix for his first F1 victory of the season
MONTREAL (AP) — George Russell won his first race of the Formula 1 season as the Mercedes driver held off defending race winner Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. It was the fourth victory of Russell's career, and the race ended under yellow when McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris staged a wheel-to-wheel late battle that ended with Norris hitting the wall. Russell started on pole for the second consecutive year in Montreal and held the advantage most of the race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The British driver became the fourth race winner this year, joining points leader leader Piastri, Norris and Verstappen, the four-time reigning F1 champion. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli finished third behind Verstappen for his first F1 podium. The two McLarens came together when Norris, then in fifth, attempted to pass Piastri multiple times on the 67th lap out of 70. Norris ultimately ran into Piastri and bounced into the wall, drawing a safety car for the final laps. Piastri finished fourth, ending an eight-race podium streak dating back to the second race of the season. McLaren as a team failed to reach the top three for the first time this year. ___ AP auto racing:
Winnipeg Free Press
43 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
George Russell of Mercedes wins the Canadian Grand Prix for his first Formula 1 victory of the season
MONTREAL (AP) — George Russell of Mercedes wins the Canadian Grand Prix for his first Formula 1 victory of the season.
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Buy Canadian movement sours sales at one Edmonton candy store
The business model for Laurie Radostits's Edmonton candy store made sense when it opened a little more than a decade ago: bring the city products that were rarely seen in Canada. It is also part of the reason that, in March, she nearly had to close down. Sweet Convenience's shelves are a colourful garden of treats, cereals and sodas: PayDay candy bars, chocolate chip pancake Pop-Tarts, vanilla Coke. The common denominator? They're American. Before President Donald Trump initiated a trade war with Canada, Sweet Convenience fed a craving for American products that were difficult to find elsewhere. Since Mr. Trump introduced the tariffs that have targeted Canadian products, those cravings have been overtaken by a patriotic desire to spend money on more Canadian-produced goods. But Ms. Radostits soon learned that, to some, 'Buy Canadian' did not necessarily mean support Canadian businesses, particularly if their products didn't bear a Canadian flag. When the one-two punch of tariffs and 'Buy Canadian' landed against Sweet Convenience in February and March, Ms. Radostits said she felt 'lots of panic.' She had only felt that worried during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, when she faced problems sourcing cross-border products. 'We've been through COVID. Okay. Can we get through Trump?' In the past, customers had requested Ms. Radostits special order their favourite American treats. But in late February and March, some were asking her to remove U.S. products from her store shelves. If she did cut her American products, she estimated 90 per cent of her stock would be eliminated. Trying to get a step ahead of tariffs, Ms. Radostits stockpiled inventory to maintain pretariff prices for as long as possible. In hindsight, it was a bad business move. She was met with an unexpected 'Buy Canadian' boom. Her sales dwindled and she could not pay the rent, although she was able to make a deal with the landlord to keep the store open. The small Canadian business was, ironically, suffering from an unofficial campaign to support Canadian businesses. 'Support Canadian and Buy Canadian are very different,' she argues. At her most dire moment, Ms. Radostits made an online plea for customers to buy from the shop in April, suggesting the store would otherwise have to close. The candy shop's fan base and former patrons returned and carried the business through Easter. While that wave has since ebbed, it hasn't disappeared. She's not as worried about having to close, but the fear remains. Sweet Convenience is enduring a 'double squeeze,' said Melise Panetta, a marketing lecturer at the Lazaridis School of Business at Wilfrid Laurier University who has also held senior positions at large consumer companies like PepsiCo. and S.C. Johnson. The candy store is dealing with the rising cost of operations and goods that other retailers are facing, but is also losing out to the Buy Canadian consumer sentiment that other Canadian retailers are seeing as a benefit. 'Even if it's a local business owned by local individuals – and even if it's cherished – they could still be at risk of having the negative perception of the products that they carry over to their overall retail image,' Ms. Panetta said. There are other stores dotted across Canada that, like Sweet Convenience, carry American treats. At Snack Passport, in Barrie, Ont., owner Jenna MacIsaac said U.S. products made up about 80 per cent of the store's revenue. That has since dropped to less than 20 per cent, she said. Ms. MacIsaac said the store rarely brings in American products now. An analysis from the Angus Reid Institute in February found 48 per cent of Canadians had already replaced, or planned to replace, U.S. products with Canadian alternatives. Sweet Convenience's unique situation is also a test of consumers' tolerance for American products though, Ms. Panetta warned, that shunning a domestic retailer has negative effects on the Canadian economy. 'That's still people that are working in our local economy. They are contributing to the local economy, and they're Canadians.' Ms. Radostits defends stocking American products by saying her profits stay in Canada because most of her orders come through Canadian third-party importers. The prices for some of her products have risen, but she has also tried a new strategy to make the price changes seem more subtle. Instead of raising prices on familiar items, where customers may visibly notice a price spike, she has chosen to order products she hasn't stocked before. That way, customers won't feel inclined to compare prices even if the new items are also subject to tariffs. It's a more subtle sticker shock. Ms. Radostits has also started labelling U.S.-licensed items to show if they had been made elsewhere, like Mexico or the Netherlands. She is also considering ordering a wider variety of foreign items, including from places in Europe. 'I don't want to go that route, so I'm kind of hoping something will change soon,' Ms. Radostits said. European products are a niche, she said, that has already been taken. Ms. Panetta, however, said choosing other countries might be the safer option and recommends the store could also start marking tariffed items with a 'T' like grocery retailer Loblaws has done.
