BMW maintained its 2026 financial guidance on Wednesday and signalled it could weather U.S. tariffs and Chinese competition, sending shares up nearly 5% despite first-quarter pretax profit tumbling 25%. The German premium carmaker beat key profit expectations for the quarter even as a narrowing core margin underscored the pressure on BMW at the start of the year. This convinced investors it was well-positioned for a volatile global auto market, and shares rose 4.6% in early trading. CORE MARGIN BEATS FORECAST The company reported first-quarter pretax earnings at 2.3 billion euros ($2.70 billion), exceeding analyst forecast of 2.2 billion euros in a company-provided consensus.