DETROIT (WWJ) -- General Motors workers will get profit sharing checks of up to $10,500, even as the company’s 2025 bottom line was impacted by high tariffs, and big costs related to changes in electric vehicle programs.
Those checks are related to GM’s performance in the North American market, where the company grew market share, and sold a lot of very profitable pickup trucks.
GM also made a lot of changes to its electric vehicle programs, and put $7.2 billion worth of costs into the fourth quarter, where the bottom line was a roughly $3 billion loss. For the year, GM’s earnings were $2.7 billion, small by automotive standards.
Still, if you look at the automotive performance, it was very strong, enough to generate $12.7 billion in pre tax earnings. That was in line with the company’s guidance. GM is expecting a similar performance in 2026.
“We expect the U.S. new vehicle market will continue to be resilient, and with our compelling vehicles, technology -driven services , and operating discipline, 2026 should be an even better year for GM,” said CEO Mary Barra in a letter to shareholders.
GM did not break out how much it was impacted by the costs of tariffs. But changes in emission and fuel economy rules should help the company’s bottom line.
“Looking ahead, we are operating in a U.S. regulatory and policy environment that is increasingly aligned with customer demand,” said Barra in the shareholder letter. “As a result, we continue to onshore more production to meet strong customer demand for our vehicles. Over the next few years, our annual production in the U.S. is expected to rise to an industry-leading 2 million units.”
General Motors profit sharing checks have, in recent years, been the largest in the industry. That’s likely to be the case again this year. We will learn more when Ford and Stellantis issue their earnings reports in the coming weeks.