Tesla, Inc. Shares Rise After Sales Beat Estimates

Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) released its latest earnings report after closing bell tonight, posting an adjusted loss of 69 cents per share on $2.28 billion in revenue. Analysts had been expecting losses of 42 cents per share (although estimates are all over the map here) and $2.2 billion in sales. The range of earnings estimates stretches from losses of $1.29 per share to earnings of 41 cents per share.

Tesla TSLA

 

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Tesla (TSLA) says orders hit record highs

As it does every quarter, the company preannounced the number of vehicle shipments it had in the fourth quarter, which was about 22,200. That missed management’s guidance again. Tesla added, however, that Model S and Model X orders hit record highs during the fourth quarter. The company said global net orders for the two vehicles combined grew 49% year over year.

The total gross margin grew to 19.1% from 18% in the year-ago quarter. The average transaction price grew 1% quarter over quarter

Investors and analysts alike were waiting to see how Tesla Inc would incorporate SolarCity’s results, as this is the first earnings report since the acquisition and it never said much about how it would report that segment. Some speculated that it would be included in Tesla Energy, while others suggested it would be kept as a separate unit for reporting purposes.

Tesla Inc said tonight that it deployed 201 megawatts of solar energy generation during the fourth quarter and 98 megawatt hours of energy storage, so it sounds like SolarCity will be put in with the energy storage segment.

Tesla Model 3 production in focus

Tesla Inc has quite a lot on its proverbial plate right now, as it works to build production capacity for the Model 3. More than one analyst has referred to the SolarCity acquisition as an unnecessary distraction. It’s vital that the company keep the Model 3 production and deliveries on schedule, and this is expected to be a key part of the focus tonight during the earnings call. In tonight’s shareholder letter, it said that initial production is on track to start in July with volume production to begin by September.

The Gigafactory is another area of focus for the automotive segment, and Tesla Inc said that battery cell production has already begun there. For SolarCity, analysts want to hear about the transition to cash sales as the company pushes toward cash breakeven.

Tesla Inc said it expects to deliver between 47,000 and 50,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in the first half of this year.

Shares of Tesla Inc rose by as much as 1.63% to $277.98 in after-hours trades.

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