Genuine Parts (GPC) is warning that its sales and profit forecasts may be "difficult to achieve" during 2025 if the US resumes its tariff regime later this year.
The automobile and industrial parts retailer earlier Tuesday reaffirmed its 2025 outlook, projecting adjusted earnings in a range of $7.75 to $8.25 per share and sales growing 2% to 4% over year-ago levels.
But company officials, including chief executive William Stengel and finance chief Herbert Nappier, cautioned their 2025 guidance does not include the potential impact of a US border tax on imports, according to a transcript from FactSet.
Even President Donald Trump's 90-day moratorium before starting his tariffs creates challenges for Genuine Parts, they said during a conference call on Tuesday with analysts after reporting financial results for its Q1 ended March 31.
Nappier said the current uncertainty surrounding tariffs could produce "a more prolonged softness and lack of recovery" extending into second half of 2025, likely keeping Genuine Parts at "the lower end of our guidance range."
Those assumptions will likely unravel, however, should tariffs return following Trump's self-imposed 90-day deadline, Nappier said. In that scenario, "a second half recovery may not materialize, which would make our current guidance difficult to achieve," he said.
Stengel later said he already is talking with many of Genuine Parts' suppliers to determine their likely response should tariffs return later in 2025. "We're actively working on it," he said, later adding, "There's more news to unfold as we go but we're not watching the clock to see what's happening before we're going to manage the business."
Genuine Parts shares recently were 2% higher during Tuesday trading this afternoon.
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