GM said Tuesday it expects a $500 million refund tied to some of the Trump-era tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down in February, and it used that expected reimbursement to lift parts of its outlook for 2026. The automaker said it has not received the money yet and does not have a specific estimate for when it will arrive.
In a statement about its updated forecast, GM said it is now targeting $13.5 billion to $15.5 billion in earnings before interest and taxes for 2026, up from previous guidance of $13 billion to $15 billion. The company also said it expects to pay $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion in tariff costs for 2026, down from an earlier estimate of $3 billion to $4 billion.
GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, wrote to shareholders that the company is operating in “a very dynamic environment” and said GM is still seeing “solid growth” and a “strong balance sheet” as it looks ahead to its “long-term goals.” Separately, GM reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of $2.63 billion on revenue of $43.62 billion.
GM confirmed to The Associated Press that the refund it expects is tied to the Supreme Court decision that invalidated certain Trump levies imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The company said it expects $500 million following that ruling, but it said it has not yet received any portion of the refund and does not have a timeline for when it will.
Companies across the economy have been seeking refunds for IEEPA tariffs they already paid, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection has launched an online system for claims. CBP said that if it approves a claim, it will take between 60 and 90 days for a refund to be issued, and that the refund system is being rolled out in phases, with only some refunds returned in the first phase.
CBP said in court filings that more than 330,000 importers paid a total of about $166 billion on over 53 million shipments connected to the tariffs at issue. The Supreme Court’s February decision was a significant setback for Trump’s economic agenda because it ruled that the IEEPA authority used to impose the levies was illegal.
The now-overturned IEEPA tariffs included so-called “reciprocal” tariffs that Trump imposed nearly a year earlier on “every country in the world,” along with “trafficking tariffs” on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, and separate duties on countries such as Brazil and India. Those duties were imposed after Trump declared a national emergency, according to the AP account.
Even as the Supreme Court knocked out the IEEPA-based duties, many other tariffs remained in effect, including sectoral levies Trump imposed under another law, Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, covering foreign steel, aluminum, cars and other products. Companies such as GM said they continue to pay those costs, and the administration has signaled more new duties may be coming.
Trump has publicly criticized companies that warned customers about price increases tied to tariffs and at times threatened additional import taxes in negotiating. Last week, the president also said he’ll “remember” companies that do not seek refunds from the IEEPA tariffs, telling CNBC: “I think it’s brilliant if they don’t do that. If they don’t do that, they got to know me very well.”
AP Business Writer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.