GE HealthCare Technologies cut its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday as the medical device maker faces hits on multiple fronts due to an escalating global trade war brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
But shares of the company rose more than 6% in premarket trading after it reported quarterly profit and revenue above Wall Street estimates. It also said the board had authorized a share repurchase of up to $1 billion.
Trump has been particularly focused on China, ratcheting up tariffs to eye-watering levels on a key source of raw materials for the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. His administration has also launched an investigation into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors in a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors.
The company expects an 85-cent hit to its full-year adjusted per share profit, with the range now at $3.90 to $4.10 per share, compared with its previous forecast of between $4.61 and $4.75 per share.
“I think they are accounting for all of the tariffs as they stand today, with little assumed for improving trade deals and other factors, so (the forecast) seems to be a ‘worst case’,” said BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman.
The company said the forecast includes assumptions of bilateral tariffs between the U.S. and China, duties on Mexico and Canada, as well as expectations for the Trump administration’s reciprocal levies on the rest of the world to return to pre-pause levels in July.
The company said that since the tariffs were implemented in February, its first quarter was not materially affected.
GE HealthCare’s quarterly adjusted profit of $1.01 per share was above analysts’ average estimate of 91 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Its quarterly revenue of $4.78 billion also beat the estimate of $4.66 billion, driven by growth in the U.S. and its largest imaging segment.
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