As Tesla US Sales Dip, GM EVs Close the Gap
After General Motors Co. launched its Cadillac Optiq early this year, Warren, an accounting coordinator at the public school district in Norman, Oklahoma, picked one up in April, trading in her gas-burning Cadillac SUV.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
From toys to cars, tariffs hit companies' bottom lines
The numbers are in: Big toy and auto companies are reporting just how much tariffs are costing them. Toymaker Hasbro said in its quarterly earnings call Wednesday that it recorded a $1 billion hit for consumer products just in the second quarter as a result of tariff impacts and its long-term outlook. Though the company is projecting growth overall in 2025 with games performing well, it's expecting consumer products revenue to drop 5%-8% this year because of the import taxes. It anticipates tariffs will make a $60 million dent this year. To mitigate the tariff impacts, Hasbro is working to reduce the U.S. toys and games it gets from China from around 50% now to less than 40% by 2027. And it's planning to bring more production to the United States — something President Donald Trump has pushed companies to do. Meanwhile, its competitor Mattel anticipates tariffs could make a dent this year of up to $100 million. The company said it has adjusted pricing — but didn't specify what the price increases were, which products were affected or when the changes took effect. 'It is the price that is necessary to offset some of the headwinds in addition to the array of a multitude of other actions that we're taking,' Mattel Chief Financial Officer Paul Ruh said. The company says it's working to broaden its supply chain faster and improve on its product sourcing to help mitigate tariff impacts. It doesn't expect any more price hikes this year. And tariffs aren't just affecting toy companies — they're also hitting some of the biggest automakers in the world. General Motors said this week tariffs cost it $1.1 billion in the second quarter. And it's expecting tariffs overall this year could cost it $4 billion to $5 billion. So far, the automaker that produces Chevys, Cadillacs and other brands has eaten that cost, and it's trying to offset some of the impact through cost cuts and investments in the U.S. 'Many of the manufacturing announcements that we made earlier in the quarter about onshoring production here into the U.S. with $4 billion of capital initiatives are going to have an effect as we get 18 to 24 months down the road,' GM CFO Paul Jacobson told CNBC. Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge, said it expects a $2.7 billion loss in the first half of this year, in part from tariffs. And Volvo just reported a big decline in its second quarter operating profit. It's now planning to add its best-selling XC60 SUV to the production line of its South Carolina plant next year. The auto industry is currently subject to 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts and 50% on steel and aluminum. It's part of an ever-changing patchwork of tariffs as the Trump administration seeks deals with trading partners around the world ahead of its Aug. 1 tariff deadline. The latest: an agreement with Japan setting tariffs at 15% on Japanese imports, less than the 25% Trump had threatened. The American Automotive Policy Council, an industry group representing the Detroit Three automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, is worried that the Japan deal could hurt companies making cars across North America. The 15% Japan tariffs are lower than the 25% on Canada and Mexico, where many American car brands manufacture their cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. 'Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers,' Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, said in a statement. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pushed back against complaints that U.S. automakers could face higher tariffs than companies making cars fully in Japan. 'That's just so silly,' he said in a CNBC interview. 'The American manufacturers are going to do extremely well in America as long as they build it in America.' Car companies haven't really upped prices yet as a result of tariffs, but that may change. 'What the challenge is going to be for the back half of the year is to figure out, will they continue absorbing a majority of the tariff impact or will we start to see that increase in consumer pricing as they start to try to pass along some of the impact,' said Erin Keating, Cox Automotive executive analyst. Cox Automotive anticipates car prices may rise 4%-8% by the end of the year. It also found that inventory of both new and used cars dropped in July. And tariffs might mean fewer toys on the shelves this holiday season. Hasbro reports some retailers are pausing or slowing down imports of holiday inventory. 'A lot of hot products are going to likely be out of stock this holiday because we're just not going to be able to replenish them because we didn't have the upfront inventory for them,' Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said. 'So like a Play-Doh Barbie, a Nano-Mals, a Baby Evie. If you're a mom or a dad, you're probably going to want to go and buy that early.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
5 hours ago
- NBC News
From toys to cars, tariffs hit companies' bottom lines
The numbers are in: Big toy and auto companies are reporting just how much tariffs are costing them. Toymaker Hasbro said in its quarterly earnings call Wednesday that it recorded a $1 billion hit for consumer products just in the second quarter as a result of tariff impacts and its long-term outlook. Though the company is projecting growth overall in 2025 with games performing well, it's expecting consumer products revenue to drop 5%-8% this year because of the import taxes. It anticipates tariffs will make a $60 million dent this year. To mitigate the tariff impacts, Hasbro is working to reduce the U.S. toys and games it gets from China from around 50% now to less than 40% by 2027. And it's planning to bring more production to the United States — something President Donald Trump has pushed companies to do. Meanwhile, its competitor Mattel anticipates tariffs could make a dent this year of up to $100 million. The company said it has adjusted pricing — but didn't specify what the price increases were, which products were affected or when the changes took effect. 'It is the price that is necessary to offset some of the headwinds in addition to the array of a multitude of other actions that we're taking,' Mattel Chief Financial Officer Paul Ruh said. The company says it's working to broaden its supply chain faster and improve on its product sourcing to help mitigate tariff impacts. It doesn't expect any more price hikes this year. And tariffs aren't just affecting toy companies — they're also hitting some of the biggest automakers in the world. General Motors said this week tariffs cost it $1.1 billion in the second quarter. And it's expecting tariffs overall this year could cost it $4 billion to $5 billion. So far, the automaker that produces Chevys, Cadillacs and other brands has eaten that cost, and it's trying to offset some of the impact through cost cuts and investments in the U.S. 'Many of the manufacturing announcements that we made earlier in the quarter about onshoring production here into the U.S. with $4 billion of capital initiatives are going to have an effect as we get 18 to 24 months down the road,' GM CFO Paul Jacobson told CNBC. Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge, said it expects a $2.7 billion loss in the first half of this year, in part from tariffs. And Volvo just reported a big decline in its second quarter operating profit. It's now planning to add its best-selling XC60 SUV to the production line of its South Carolina plant next year. The auto industry is currently subject to 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts and 50% on steel and aluminum. It's part of an ever-changing patchwork of tariffs as the Trump administration seeks deals with trading partners around the world ahead of its Aug. 1 tariff deadline. The latest: an agreement with Japan setting tariffs at 15% on Japanese imports, less than the 25% Trump had threatened. The American Automotive Policy Council, an industry group representing the Detroit Three automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, is worried that the Japan deal could hurt companies making cars across North America. The 15% Japan tariffs are lower than the 25% on Canada and Mexico, where many American car brands manufacture their cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. 'Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers,' Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, said in a statement. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pushed back against complaints that U.S. automakers could face higher tariffs than companies making cars fully in Japan. 'That's just so silly,' he said in a CNBC interview. 'The American manufacturers are going to do extremely well in America as long as they build it in America.' Car companies haven't really upped prices yet as a result of tariffs, but that may change. 'What the challenge is going to be for the back half of the year is to figure out, will they continue absorbing a majority of the tariff impact or will we start to see that increase in consumer pricing as they start to try to pass along some of the impact,' said Erin Keating, Cox Automotive executive analyst. Cox Automotive anticipates car prices may rise 4%-8% by the end of the year. It also found that inventory of both new and used cars dropped in July. And tariffs might mean fewer toys on the shelves this holiday season. Hasbro reports some retailers are pausing or slowing down imports of holiday inventory. 'A lot of hot products are going to likely be out of stock this holiday because we're just not going to be able to replenish them because we didn't have the upfront inventory for them,' Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said. 'So like a Play-Doh Barbie, a Nano-Mals, a Baby Evie. If you're a mom or a dad, you're probably going to want to go and buy that early.'
Fast Company
9 hours ago
- Fast Company
Trump rollback on clean energy subsidies stalls major solar, wind projects and manufacturing plans
Singapore-based solar panel manufacturer Bila Solar is suspending plans to double capacity at its new factory in Indianapolis. Canadian rival Heliene's plans for a solar cell facility in Minnesota are under review. Norwegian solar wafer maker NorSun is evaluating whether to move forward with a planned factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And two fully permitted offshore wind farms in the U.S. Northeast may never get built. These are among the major clean energy investments now in question after Republicans agreed earlier this month to quickly end U.S. subsidies for solar and wind power as part of their budget megabill, and as the White House directed agencies to tighten the rules on who can claim the incentives that remain. This marks a policy U-turn since President Donald Trump's return to office that project developers, manufacturers and analysts say will slash installations of renewable energy over the coming decade, kill investment and jobs in the clean energy manufacturing sector supporting them, and worsen a looming U.S. power supply crunch as energy-hungry AI infrastructure expands. Solar and wind installations could be 17% and 20% lower than previously forecast over the next decade because of the moves, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie, which warned that a dearth of new supplies could slow the expansion of data centers needed to support AI technology. Energy researcher Rhodium, meanwhile, said the law puts at risk $263 billion of wind, solar, and storage facilities and $110 billion of announced manufacturing investment supporting them. It will also increase industrial energy costs by up to $11 billion in 2035, it said. 'One of the administration's stated goals was to bring costs down, and as we demonstrated, this bill doesn't do that,' said Ben King, a director in Rhodium's energy and climate practice. He added the policy 'is not a recipe for continued dominance of the U.S. AI industry.' The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration has defended its moves to end support for clean energy by arguing the rapid adoption of solar and wind power has created instability in the grid and raised consumer prices – assertions that are contested by the industry and which do not bear out in renewables-heavy power grids, like Texas' ERCOT. Power industry representatives, however, have said all new generation projects need to be encouraged to meet rising U.S. demand, including both those driven by renewables and fossil fuels. Consulting firm ICF projects that U.S. electricity demand will grow by 25% by 2030, driven by increased AI and cloud computing – a major challenge for the power industry after decades of stagnation. The REPEAT Project, a collaboration between Princeton University and Evolved Energy Research, projects a 2% annual increase in electricity demand. With a restricted pipeline of renewables, tighter electricity supplies stemming from the policy shift could increase household electricity costs by $280 a year in 2035, according to the REPEAT Project. The key provision in the new law is the accelerated phase-out of 30% tax credits for wind and solar projects: it requires projects to begin construction within a year or enter service by the end of 2027 to qualify for the credits. Previously the credits were available through 2032. Now some project developers are scrambling to get projects done while the U.S. incentives are still accessible. But even that strategy has become risky, developers said. Days after signing the law, Trump directed the Treasury Department to review the definition of 'beginning of construction.' A revision to those rules could overturn a long-standing practice giving developers four years to claim tax credits after spending just 5% of project costs. Treasury was given 45 days to draft new rules. 'With so many moving parts, financing of projects, financing of manufacturing is difficult, if not impossible,' said Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of Heliene. 'You are looking to see what is the next baseball bat that's going to hit you on the head.' About face Heliene's planned cell factory, which could cost as much as $350 million, depending on the capacity, and employ more than 600 workers, is also in limbo, Pochtaruk said in an interview earlier this month. The company needs more clarity on both what the new law will mean for U.S. demand, and how Trump's trade policy will impact the solar industry. 'We have a building that is anxiously waiting for us to make a decision,' Pochtaruk said. Similarly, Mick McDaniel, general manager of Bila Solar, said 'a troubling level of uncertainty' has put on hold its $20 million expansion at an Indianapolis factory it opened this year that would create an additional 75 jobs. 'NorSun is still digesting the new legislation and recent executive order to determine the impact to the overall domestic solar manufacturing landscape,' said Todd Templeton, director of the company's U.S. division that is reviewing plans for its $620 million solar wafer facility in Tulsa. Five solar manufacturing companies – T1 Energy, Imperial Star Solar, SEG Solar, Solx and ES Foundry – said they are also concerned about the new law's impact on future demand, but that they have not changed their investment plans. The policy changes have also injected fresh doubt about the fate of the nation's pipeline of offshore wind projects, which depend heavily on tax credits to bring down costs. According to Wood Mackenzie, projects that have yet to start construction or make final investment decisions are unlikely to proceed. Two such projects, which are fully permitted, include a 300-megawatt project by developer US Wind off the coast of Maryland and Iberdrola's 791 MW New England Wind off the coast of Massachusetts. Neither company responded to requests for comment. 'They are effectively ready to begin construction and are now trapped in a timeline that will make it that much harder to be able to take advantage of the remaining days of the tax credits,' said Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward.
