From Apple (AAPL.US) to General Motors (GM.US), US companies may lose tens of billions of dollars due to the impact of tariffs

The Zhitong Finance App learned that US companies, from tech giants to manufacturing leaders, are collectively bearing the shock wave brought about by the Trump administration's comprehensive imposition of tariffs. Although most of the affected goods have yet to reach US ports, corporate warnings that have disclosed financial reports indicate that tariff policies are eroding corporate profits by exceeding expectations, and some industries are even facing the test of life and death in supply chain restructuring.

Among US companies that have announced financial forecasts, General Motors (GM.US) has become the hardest hit by tariffs: the Detroit auto company expects annual profits to be reduced by 5 billion US dollars due to tariffs, and its vehicles and parts imported from South Korea, Canada, and Mexico generally face a 25% tariff barrier. Ford Motor Company (F.US), which is also in the automobile industry, followed, warning that tariffs would cause its profit before interest and tax (EBITDA) to shrink by 1.5 billion US dollars; Harley Davidson Motorcycles (HOG.US) may lose 175 million US dollars.

Figure 1

The tech camp has not been spared either. Apple (AAPL.US) expects an increase of 900 million US dollars in costs this quarter due to tariffs. Nvidia (NVDA.US) has already spent 5.5 billion US dollars to cope with rising import costs, and Meta Platforms (META.US) has also raised annual capital expenditure by 7 billion US dollars, bluntly stating that “global equipment procurement costs have exceeded expectations.” Consumer giant Procter & Gamble (PG.US) expects tariffs to drive up annual costs by 1 billion to 1.5 billion US dollars, and plans to pass on the pressure through price increases.

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According to data, the term “uncertainty” (uncertainty) appeared more frequently than 6,000 times in this round of financial reporting season corporate conference calls, a record high since the 2020 pandemic. Dozens of companies, including Walmart (WMT.US) and Home Depot (HD.US), have yet to announce their latest results, but many companies have saved themselves by early stocking up and transferring production capacity: Microsoft (MSFT.US) unexpectedly surged Windows software sales due to customer snapping up; Amazon (AMZN.US) accelerated procurement to avoid tariffs, which reduced profits by 1 billion US dollars in the first quarter; although Stanley (SWK.US) has raised product prices in the US market by 15%, it is still expected that tariffs will eat up their annual profit of 1.7 billion US dollars.

Other manufacturers are also feeling the profit pressure brought about by tariffs and are adopting coping strategies one after another, but these measures are difficult to completely resolve long-term difficulties. For example, companies such as 3M (MMM.US) and Danaher (DHR.US) are moving their production bases out of China to meet tariff challenges. Although Raytheon Technology (RTX.US) has taken mitigation measures, it is still expected that tariffs will reduce its operating profit by 850 million US dollars, making it difficult to fully hedge against the impact of tariffs.

Furthermore, consumer giants such as P&G and Stanley increased prices to absorb the impact of tariffs. Among them, P&G plans to cope with the increase in tariff costs by raising product prices, while Stanley raised prices drastically in April and warned that further price action may be needed if tariffs continue.

GE Vernova (GEV.US) plans to pass on part of the tariff costs to customers using inflation protection clauses and law change clauses in the contract. Boeing (BA.US) is concerned that the EU may follow up with additional tariffs, causing the production cost of its 787 airliner to increase by another 500 million US dollars, further complicating the issue.

Self-help measures, however, had limited effect. DuPont (DD.US) expects tariff costs to reach 500 million US dollars, and even through production transfers and procurement of substitutes, it will still have to bear a net loss of 60 million US dollars; Hershey (HSY.US) predicts that with the consumption of cocoa stocks, tariff costs will surge to 100 million US dollars in a single quarter.

Market analysis indicates that the current corporate warning may only be the tip of the iceberg. Many companies, including Oracle (ORCL.US) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US), have yet to disclose details of the impact of tariffs, and the lagging effects of online advertising, medical devices and other industries may become apparent in the second half of the year.