DETROIT – Ford Motor raised its 2026 guidance on Wednesday after beating Wall Street’s first-quarter expectations and reporting a $1.3 billion tariff refund benefit after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs were illegal.

Ford stock rose more than 6% in after-hours trading.

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

• Earnings per share: 66 cents adjusted vs. 19 cents expected
• Automotive revenue: $39.82 billion vs. $38.82 billion expected

The first-quarter results significantly outperformed Ford’s performance from a year earlier, despite a 4% decline in wholesale units during the time period. Its overall revenue increased 6% to $43.3 billion and its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes more than tripled from $1 billion to $3.5 billion. Net income jumped to $2.5 billion, or 63 cents a share, up from $500 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier.

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. Excluding special items but including the tariff reimbursement, Ford earned 66 cents a share.

The company’s updated full-year 2026 guidance includes adjusted EBIT of $8.5 billion to $10.5 billion, up from $8 billion to $10 billion. It maintained adjusted free cash flow of between $5 billion and $6 billion and capital expenditures of $9.5 billion to $10.5 billion.

Ford noted the guidance does not include potential impacts of a sustained conflict in the Middle East or a significant downturn in the U.S. economy. 

Ford CFO Sherry House said the earnings increase was not strictly because of the tariff reimbursement. The company has not received that refund yet but said it is helping to offset an expected $1 billion incremental increase in commodity costs, specifically aluminum, for the year.

“The rest of the beat came from strong product mix in net pricing and growth in software and physical services,” House said during a media call Wednesday.”Even with the one-time tier of benefit, the underlying business came in around $2.2 billion ahead of expectations.” 

Ford already expected an additional $1 billion in increased commodity costs amid higher prices and as it sources aluminum from different suppliers following fires that have affected production at a key Novelis aluminum plant last year in New York. The automaker has said the supplier isn’t expected to be operational again until between May and September.

House said the company decided to book the tariff refund during the first quarter because that’s when the Supreme Court’s decision was made. Trump last week told CNBC that he would gratefully “remember” U.S. companies that do not seek refunds for the tariffs.

House said the company did not raise its automotive free cash flow guidance along with the earnings outlook due to uncertainty about the tariff refund process and timing.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff benefit was largely expected by Wall Street analysts, but the exact amount Ford 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. 

From a business unit basis, Ford’s traditional “Blue” operations led the way for the company with $1.9 billion in earnings during the quarter, followed by its “Pro” commercial business earnings at about $1.7 billion.

Ford’s “Model e” electric vehicle business narrowed its losses from $849 million a year ago to $777 million during the first quarter of this year. That smaller loss corresponded with a 70% decline in year-over-year EV sales for the first quarter.

Ford’s results come a day after crosstown rival General Motors raised its 2026 guidance and significantly beat Wall Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations. GM reported a roughly $500 million benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court IEEPA decision.

Paramount CEO David Ellison is trying to do something that no other studio has done in the modern age of cinema — release 30 films annually.

Ellison once again promised this theatrical feat in front of thousands of exhibitors at CinemaCon earlier this month. Applause erupted from the crowd after he made the pronouncement.

But privately, movie theater operators have expressed concerns and skepticism about the proposed future slate of films. While a massive string of releases would help cinemas, companies doubt he will be able to follow through on the promise.

His 30-film plan would hinge on Paramount receiving regulatory approval for its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which the latter company’s shareholders approved last week. Ellison noted that each studio would produce 15 films a year.

However, Ellison has not provided many details about those 30 releases, and it’s not clear how he would hit the ambitious goal. Representatives for Paramount did not reply to CNBC’s request for comment.

It’s unclear if all of the films would have wide releases (meaning they eventually play in at least 1,500 theaters, though the typical benchmark is 2,000). It’s also not certain whether the company will count films it distributes but doesn’t produce as part of this figure, or how many of those proposed titles will be considered tentpole blockbusters.

Movie theater operators and industry experts are skeptical that Paramount would be able to sustain a 30-film slate after the initial merger. After all, part of the consolidation process is eliminating redundancies, which inevitably leads to layoffs as well as cost-cutting measures that often result in fewer productions.

“When it comes to traditional brand-new wide release films, 30 movies a year is a lofty plan given that most distributors are releasing on average anywhere from 10 to 15 wide releases each year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of market trends at Comscore.

In fact, in the last 25 years, no studio has released 30 films in a single year. The combination of 20th Century Fox and Searchlight came close in 2006 when the studios had 25 wide releases, according to data from Comscore.

The data also show that when studios have merged in the past, the result has been fewer theatrical releases, not more.

Prior to acquiring 21st Century Fox and its studio assets, Disney was averaging 12 films a year dating back to 2000. Meanwhile, the combined efforts of 20th Century Fox and Searchlight averaged 16 films during that same time. Not including 2020, in which theatrical releases were impacted by pandemic-related cinema closures, Disney has averaged around 13 films a year following the 2019 merger.

The line chart shows the annual film releases by Disney and 20th Century between 2000 and 2019 ahead of the two companies’ eventual merger.

“I don’t remember any instance with consolidation where one plus one equals two,” Eric Handler, managing director and senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, told CNBC.

Additionally, a combined Paramount and Warner Bros. slate would face some logistical issues in placing 30 films on a 52-week calendar, as well as competition for coveted premium large format theaters.

The wider Hollywood cohort has also balked at the merger, citing similar concerns about job losses and reduced productions. More than 4,000 A-listers, including Robert De Niro, David Fincher, Pedro Pascal and Florence Pugh have signed an open letter opposing the combination of the two companies.

At least one theater operator, however, is supportive of the merger. AMC CEO Adam Aron came out in favor of Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. during CinemaCon earlier this month.

“Of particular importance are David’s public commitments to expand film distribution by Paramount and Warner to at least 30 movies per year, and his vocal embrace of a 45-day exclusive theatrical window,” he wrote in a statement.

“I am confident that David Ellison is sincere as to his intentions, and truly believe that he in fact will wind up delivering on these commitments,” he added.

Amazon MGM has already stepped up to the plate in recent years and has promised at least 15 theatrical releases per year starting in 2027. The studio is on pace to have 13 releases in 2026. One of its recent films, “Project Hail Mary,” which arrived in theaters in March, has set box office records for the studio and delivered audiences to theaters.

However, Amazon’s 15-film annual addition to the overall slate was already replacing the films lost from the Disney-Fox merger. It wouldn’t be enough to also account for any losses in titles from a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.

“It’s not great for exhibition,” the cinema veteran said. “It’s a lose-lose proposition.”