Tesla earnings: See the electric vehicle maker's recent results history and projections --[Reported by Umva mag]

• Tesla is a closely watched company, with its quarterly earnings carefully scrutinized.
• Tesla's Q2 2024 earnings report was released on July 23.
• The adjusted year-over-year earnings margin dropped from 18.7% to 14.4%.

Information about Tesla's financials is released on a quarterly basis, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk reporting progress to shareholders during earnings calls — and often facing tough questions from investors while doing so.

Here's a quick guide to recent earnings from Tesla.

Tesla Q2 earnings 2024

Tesla reported its second-quarter earnings on July 23, 2024 after the closing bell. The EV giant largely failed to meet Wall Street's estimates, although it reported better-than-expected revenue and record high profits in the company's energy storage business. 

In the analyst call following the report's release, Elon Musk fielded questions about Tesla's future lineup, including the updated Roadster and next-generation lower-cost vehicle. The CEO said the company would start production on a lower-cost EV in the first half of 2025 but didn't elaborate on specifics. 

Analysts also asked about Tesla's Robotaxi event, which Musk confirmed is delayed from August to October 10. The delay is due to a design change to the front of the vehicle, the CEO said.

Musk said in the call he was optimistic Tesla's Robotaxi and the unsupervised FSD it comes with would receive regulatory approval. He also said he would be "shocked" if the first ride wasn't possible by next year. However, he didn't provide a definitive timeline and admitted he tends to lean optimistic.

Musk also faced questions about how he makes resource-allocation decisions with his companies. The inquiries come after news broke that Musk redirected $500 million in AI processors from Tesla to X, although the billionaire claims it was due to Tesla not having the space to store the chips at the time. Musk said in the call that the move benefited Tesla since it didn't have the infrastructure for the chips at the time.

• Adjusted earnings per share: $0.52 vs. estimate of $0.60
• Revenue: $25.50 billion vs. estimate of $24.63 billion
• Gross margin: 18% vs. estimate of 17.4%
• Operating income: $1.61 billion, -33% y/y, vs. estimate of $1.81
  billion

Tesla Q1 earnings 2024

Tesla reported its first-quarter earnings on April 23, 2024 after the closing bell.

While the carmaker missed expectations on earnings-per-share and revenue, it exceeded estimates on its gross margin. The carmaker also shared plans to speed up production of low-cost EVs ahead of the second half of 2025.

Tesla also offered a glimpse of its Robotaxi ride-sharing app in its Q1 earnings presentation. The preview showed a black-and-white screen that would allow users to "summon" an autonomous vehicle and adjust the car temperature.

During the call, Musk went into greater detail about the Robotaxi concept, sharing that a number of cars would be owned and operated by the EV maker and others would be rented out by Tesla owners. The CEO also said he doesn't foresee "significant regulatory barriers" to Tesla's FSD software and shared a vision of "tens of millions of cars" in a self-driving fleet.

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja addressed the company's layoffs in the call and said the 10% reduction would save it "in excess of $1 billion on an annual run rate basis."

One analyst asked Musk if he's spread too thin, to which Musk responded that Tesla makes up most of his work.

Tesla's then-head of investor relations, Martin Viecha, announced his departure during the call. He joined a string of executives who left the company around that time.

Tesla's stock remained up throughout the call and soared in days after.

1st quarter results:

• Adjusted earnings per share: $0.45 vs. $0.85 y/y, estimate $0.52
• Revenue: $21.30 billion, -8.7% y/y, estimate $22.3 billion
• Gross margin: 17.4% vs. 19.3% y/y, estimate 16.5%
• Operating income: $1.17 billion, -56% y/y, estimate $1.53 billion
• Negative free cash flow: $2.53 billion vs. positive $441 million y/y, estimate positive $653.6 million
• Capital expenditure: $2.77 billion, +34% y/y, estimate $2.39 billion

Tesla Q4 earnings 2023

Tesla reported its fourth-quarter earnings on January 24, 2024 and its shares immediately dropped 4% in after-hours trading as the carmaker missed estimates on its revenue and earnings per share.

During the analyst call, the CEO boasted about Tesla's AI, saying it was "quite far ahead of any other company in the world" in regard to AI inference efficiency. The comments came after Musk recently asked for a 25% voting stake in the company and threatened to take AI efforts elsewhere.

Executives also mentioned that Tesla is working to expand its Nevada Gigafactory to build more electric semi-trucks. Musk also mentioned that Tesla may ship the first version of Optimus next year. He also noted the Cybertruck almost sold out for the year, clarifuing that it was a "production-constraint situation, not a demand-constrait situation."

4th quarter results:

• Adjusted earnings per share: $0.71 vs. estimate $0.73
• Revenue: $25.17 billion vs. estimate $25.87 billion
• Gross margin: 17.6% vs. estimate 18.1%
• Free cash flow: $2.06 billion vs. estimate $1.45 billion
• Capital expenditure: $2.31 billion vs. estimate $2.32 billion

Tesla earnings history

Tesla's earnings are also a chance to hear from Elon Musk himself. The CEO tends to sprinkle in interesting snippets in earnings calls. In January 2023, for example, Musk used the Tesla earnings call to brag about his Twitter popularity. 

He has also been known to comment on hot-button issues, such as COVID lockdowns or increasing competition for AI chips.

The earnings calls are also an opportunity to sometimes hear hints about Tesla's production timeline, with Musk giving updates in the past on Cybertruck launch and production ramp-up, unreleased models like the new Roadster, and other elements of the business, such as Dojo or the solar business.

Musk and Tesla's CFO field questions from analysts every quarter, and the focus of those questions varies depending on what's happening in the wider EV market or if there's a particular challenge facing the company.

The pressure has been high this year with EV demand slowing down and uncertainty about Musk's pay package looming for part of the year.

For example, while Tesla's stock surged following the company's first-quarter earnings, analysts expressed concerns during the call about Musk's ability to prioritize Tesla. The shareholder approval of his massive $55 billion compensation package raised expectations for a renewed focus on the company, and investors were awaiting results to see if it would translate into tangible benefits.

Tesla's next earnings report is scheduled for October 16, shortly after the highly anticipated Robotaxi event. In addition to the company's overall success this next quarter, the event will likely serve as a significant indicator of Tesla's future growth.

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