GM raised its 2026 guidance and significantly beat Wall Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations.

The automaker booked a roughly $500 million benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court decision to terminate and refund certain levies paid under President Donald Trump’s tariffs. This also touches on aspects of bull market.

DETROIT — General Motors raised its 2026 guidance after significantly beating Wall Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations following a roughly $500 million benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court decision to terminate and refund certain levies paid under President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Shares of GM were up roughly 1% during premarket trading. The stock closed Monday at $77.96 a share, down less than 1% for the day but off 4.1% so far this year.

Here’s how the organization performed in the first quarter, compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:

Revenue: $43.62 billion vs. $43.68 billion expected

GM’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff benefit was largely expected by Wall Street analysts, but the exact amount it would receive was unknown. It is part of $160 billion in potential refunds expected to be returned to companies after the levies were ruled illegal in February by the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision.  

The automaker has not received IEEPA refunds yet, but expects to and decided to book it during the first quarter. Trump last week told CNBC that he would gratefully “remember” U.S. companies that do not seek refunds for the tariffs.

Excluding the IEEPA tariffs, GM still expects gross tariff costs of $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion from other levies this year, down from the original estimate of $3 billion to $4 billion.

The Detroit automaker raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to reflect the tariff rebate to between $13.5 billion and $15.5 billion, or $11.50 to $13.50 a share, up $500 million, or 50 cents per share, from its previous expectations.

Due to special charges, the firm lowered its net income attributable to stockholders forecast for the year to $9.9 billion to $11.4 billion, down from $10.3 billion to $11.7 billion, and automotive operating cash flow to between $16.8 billion and $20.8 billion, down from between $19 billion and $23 billion. Furthermore, experts in earnings report note the continued relevance.

The enterprise booked $1.1 billion in special charges related to its pullback in all-electric vehicles as it negotiates and pays suppliers. That adds to $7.6 billion in special charges related to EVs for its 2025 results.

The charges impact GM’s net income but not adjusted results. Automakers commonly exclude “special items” or one-time charges from their adjusted financial results to provide investors with a clearer picture of their core, ongoing business operations.

GM CFO Paul Jacobson on Tuesday told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau that the organization did not raise its automotive free cash flow guidance of between $9 billion and $11 billion due to uncertainty about the tariff refund process and timing.

Without the tariff adjustment, the company’s first-quarter adjusted earnings would have still beat expectations and been up about 7.5% compared with a year ago. GM CEO Mary Barra in a letter to shareholders commented the quarter surpassed the company’s expectations.

“We have solid momentum in our core operations,” Barra commented in the letter. “As we move forward, I’m confident this will continue to differentiate GM and support long-term value creation for our owners.”

Regionally, the company’s North American operations continue to lead the business, up 11.4% in adjusted earnings compared with a year ago, to $3.66 billion. Its operations in China and other international markets also were profitable.

“The North America team, I think, did a tremendous job of managing the economy with, really, challenges on inventory throughout the whole quarter,” Jacobson noted Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I also think we got a little bit ahead of the game on costs. That’s really where I think the beat came from in the quarter.”

GM’s first-quarter revenue was in line with Wall Street’s expectations, but down about 1% from a year earlier.

GM’s 2025 first-quarter results included $44.02 billion in revenue, net income attributable to stockholders of $2.78 billion, and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $3.49 billion.

The company’s nonadjusted net income was $2.71 billion during the first quarter, down 5.19% compared to a year earlier.

Correction: GM’s 2026 guidance for net income attributable to stockholders was down from $10.3 billion to $11.7 billion and its guidance for automotive operating cash flow was down from between $19 billion and $23 billion. An earlier version misstated the move.